Amritanandamayi mutt row: Gail Tredwell, five news organisations booked

Gail Tredwell with Amritanandamayi

In an unprecedented move, Kerala Police has registered a case against a former inmate of Amritanandamayi mutt and five news organisations for reporting on her book - Holy Hell: A Memoir of Faith, Devotion and Pure Madness.

Palarivattom police has booked Gail Tredwell, TV channels Indiavision, Reporter, Mediaone and newspapers Thejas and Madhyamam.

Tredwell's controversial memoir was published by Wattletree Press, Hawai.

Police confirmed that a case has been registered under six sections of the IPC on a complaint filed by Cijith of Mamamangalam in Kochi on Tuesday.

The police registered the case under Sections 153A (Promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), 153 B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration), 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), 298 (uttering words, etc., with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.

Cijith had filed a complaint before Ernakulam judicial first magistrate court on Monday. The court ordered a case against Tredwell and the media organisations 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 cognisable offence.

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

"I have done only my duty as the citizen of India. IPC 202 clearly says that intentional omission to give information of offence by person bound to inform will be punished with imprisonment. I have bought the book of Tredwell and on reading it I found that a crime had been committed. I gave a complaint to police. It is my social responsibility to bring it to the notice of the authorities," Prakash told IndiaToday.in

"The media has only reported the allegation of rape in the ashram. How can police take action against media by registering a case based on IPC 295A? 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 Karunagappilly police had sent her an e-mail asking her to present herself in the police station and produce evidences of rape.

"Instead of asking the victim to come to the station, police should have gone to Hawai to register her statement. The police should take action suo moto in such cases if formation regarding a serious offence is known or reported. The inaction of the police to register an FIR is a clear violation of the judgement in Lalita Kumari Vs State of Utter Pradesh case," said Prakash.

"As a responsible media house, we have only reported the allegations of Tredwell that she was repeatedly raped at the ashram by the head priest. We also aired a programme criticizing the police in registering a case against those who shared post regarding revelation of Tredwell," M.V. Nikesh Kumar, chief editor of Reporter channel, told IndiaToday.in.

"Freedom of the press is being gagged by initiating cases against media organisation in the state. The court verdict asking police to register a case itself is also condemnable. In fact these cases are filed to silence the press. Those who try to threaten us by filing cases should understand that we are not afraid of telling the truth and will continue our journalism with courage and honesty," he said.

In her book, Tredwell - a former aide of Amritanandamayi, says she was repeatedly raped at the ashram by head priest from 1979-1999.

Gail Tredwell repeated the allegations in a TV interview aired by People Channel. She also sent letters to media organisations that she would stand by her allegations.

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.

The advertisement says that the forces who oppose the mutt "are about to be taught the consequences of their actions. People from Kerala's coastal areas will isolate them. Before long, they will see the response of these people".

The advertisement even threatens general public. "Know one thing: There is limit to everything. If that limit is transgressed, the consequence will be disastrous".

A protest has started in social media against the advertisement.