Police raid Asaram ashram, detain 150 followers

The police on Friday raided the ashram of spiritual leader Asaram Bapu in Ahmedabad and detained nearly 150 followers in the wake of a clash between them in Gandhinagar.

"We have detained approximately 150 persons from the Asaram ashram in Motera during a search operation," Gandhinagar Deputy Superintendent of Police Piyush Patel said.

However, no weapons or suspicious items were found from the ashram premises, he said.

On Thursday, Asaram followers had clashed with the police, after they were prevented from entering the Gandhinagar collector's office to submit a memorandum. The  memorandum was against an alleged 'well-planned conspiracy' to frame their religious leader in an incident in which two boys of the ashram had gone missing last year. Their bodies were later found on the banks of River Sabarmati.

Nearly 20 policemen, including the Gandhinagar DSP, were injured in the attack. Over 20 police vehicles were also damaged. Later, the police resorted to cane-charge and lobbed tear-gas shells to disperse the mob.

The Asaram ashram has been in the news recently after the police filed a case against seven disciples in the case. Following the incident, a mass agitation was launched in Ahmedabad, which forced the state government to constitute an inquiry commission to probe the incident.