Hyderabad Man Who Went to Asaram Bapu Ashram in Gujarat Missing

A 27-year-old man from Hyderabad has gone missing after attending a "shivir" (camp) at jailed godman Asaram Bapu's ashram in the Motera region of Gujarat's Ahmedabad city between November 3 and 11, police said on Wednesday. 

Inspector R S Thakar stated that a missing person's report was filed at the Chandkheda police station throughout the day. The victim, Vijay Yadav, last spoke to his parents on November 9, after that  his phone was turned off, his brother, Sanjay Yadav.

According to Thakar, ashram authorities informed the police that Vijay sent an email on Tuesday claiming that he is well and would return in a few days. The email was sent from Vijay's email address to the ashram's email address.

"In the email, Vijay allegedly stated that he had gone to a location freely and would return shortly. Using the IP address of the computer from which the email was sent, we are attempting to determine the exact location. We have also obtained call logs from his phone number," the official added.

Vijay had gone from Hyderabad with nine other men to the ashram to attend a shivir between November 3 and 11. While his friends returned home after the camp, Vijay stayed back, saying he wanted to participate in some ritual to achieve inner peace and cancelled his train ticket, said the official.

When his family arrived at the ashram on Tuesday to check about Vijay, they were informed that he was not there. When the police went to the ashram for a preliminary inquiry, they found no record of Vijay's entry inside the grounds. According to Sanjay Yadav, his brother last spoke to his mother on November 9 before turning off his phone the next day.  The family said that Vijay had started visiting the Asharm  in Hyderabad often in the recent times.