Sadguru’s Isha Foundation gets cleared by Tamil Nadu police in the missing people case

The Tamil Nadu police exonerated the Isha Foundation, run by Jaggi Vasudev, also known as Sadguru, in the missing people case on Thursday, which was a relief for the organization, noting that the majority of individuals reported missing had returned.

The police said during the Madras High Court hearing that those who had vanished from the yoga facility run by the Isha Foundation in the Vellingiri neighborhood of Coimbatore district had returned after leaving for private reasons.

During a hearing on a habeas corpus case filed by C Thirumalai—whose brother has been missing for a year—this argument was made. The court, however, voiced its displeasure at Thirumalai’s absence from the sessions and warned that if the petitioner skipped the next hearing, the lawsuit against the foundation may be dropped.

The court said that this was Thirumalai’s last chance to present and delayed the case for further discussion on June 7.

The Tamil Nadu Police requested more time to provide a status report while informing the court of their continuing investigation into the issue. 36 people have been questioned so far, including staff members and volunteers of the Isha Yoga Center, according to Additional Public Prosecutor E Raj Thilakavadi.

Six individuals from the Isha Foundation have vanished since 2016, the police told the court last month at Thirumalai’s habeas corpus hearing.

Following his brother Ganesan’s (46), disappearance from the Isha Foundation in March of the previous year, Thirumalai had sought the court. Thirumalai had tried to get in touch with the foundation, but all they had told him was that his brother, who was employed at the ashram, had been missing for two days. Thirumalai then went to the High Court and filed a police case.

But the police had told the court at earlier sessions that most people who leave the foundation do so willingly.