Amritanandamayi row: five news organizations booked

The mutt has not filed any defamation suit against Tredwell even though the book was published four months ago.

Kochi:  In an unprecedented move, Kerala Police has registered a case against a former inmate of Amritanandamayi mutt and five news organizations for reporting on her book.

Police charged case against Gail Tredwell, who wrote the book, Holy Hell: A Memoir of Faith, Devotion and Pure Madness and television channels Indiavision, Reporter, Mediaone and newspapers Thejas and Madhyamam.

Tredwell's controversial memoir was published by Wattletree Press, Hawai, speaks about alleged sex exploitations she suffered while she was a inmate of the mutt.

Police confirmed that a case has been registered a case on a complaint filed by Cijith of Mamamangalam in Kochi on Tuesday.

They are booked against at least six sections of penal code including promoting enmity between different groups, making assertions prejudicial to national integration, hurting religious feelings and criminal conspiracy

Cijith had filed a complaint before Ernakulam judicial first magistrate on Monday. The court ordered a case against Tredwell and the media organizations for reporting on Tredwell's allegations.

A case has also been registered against Supreme Court lawyer Deepak Prakash, who gave a complaint to Karunagappilly police station asking them to file an FIR over Tredwell's allegations since saying it was a cognizable offence.

Interestingly, the mutt has not filed any defamation suit against Tredwell even though the book was published four months ago.

Prakash said he was only giving information of offence to police, which was part of his social and legal responsibility. "How can an allegation of rape in the ashram amounts outraging of religious feelings?" said Prakash.

Tredwell had revealed in her interview to Kairali People Channel that police had sent her an e-mail asking her to present herself in the police station and produce evidences of rape.

M.V. Nikesh Kumar, chief editor of Reporter channel, told IndiaToday.in that they as "a responsible media house, have only reported the allegations of Tredwell that she was repeatedly raped at the ashram by the head priest."

He said the "freedom of the press is being gagged by initiating cases against media organisation in the state."

In her book, Tredwell - a former aide of Amritanandamayi, says she was repeatedly raped at the ashram by head priest from 1979-1999.
Amritananadmayi mutt spokesperson Brahmachari Raju denied all allegations and said they will file a defamation case against her in a New York court shortly.

Meanwhile, newspapers in Kerala published an advertisement on March 12 from Kerala Dheevara Saba, a community organisation, calling for shutdown on March 14 against "slanderous propaganda of vested interests" against Amritandamayi and the mutt.

The advertisement has several lines directly threatening media with dire consequences if they continue to report against the math.

Source: India Today