A day after five sisters were evicted from the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Puducherry following a Supreme Court order, two of them and their mother allegedly committed suicide by jumping into the sea. The other three sisters and the father, who too tried to drown themselves, were rescued, Puducherry police said Thursday.
Police identified the dead as Shanti Devi and her daughters Arunashri and Rajyashree Prasad. Shanti Devi’s husband Gadadhar Prasad and daughters Hemlata, Jayashree and Nivedita have been admitted to the Indira Gandhi Government General Hospital and Research Institute.
Hemlata had attempted suicide on Wednesday too but police thwarted the attempt at the ashram.
Hailing from Bihar, the Prasad family — the sisters lived on the ashram premises and the parents in the city — were locked in a legal battle with the ashram for more than a decade. They were evicted after the ashram filed a contempt petition against the family for not vacating the premises before July 31 as per a previous order from the Supreme Court.
Prasad, his wife and five daughters became ashram inmates after surrendering all their wealth. Problems began when the sisters alleged irregularities and corruption at the ashram.
A probe in 2002 by a retired district judge appointed by the Madras High Court indicted Hemlata, one of the five sisters, and recommended disciplinary action against her on the charge of misconduct. The ashram management decided to take action against the five sisters, calling it an internal matter.
Human rights lawyer Bobby Kunhu, familiar with the case of the Prasads, said: “Police have been saying they cannot interfere in the internal matters of the ashram. A detailed probe should be ordered to prevent any untoward incident in future.”
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A source close to the ashram said it has its own norms and rules. “The five sisters and their parents joined the ashram after they agreed to these rules. Problems are supposed to be settled or resolved within the ashram, but they took it outside and made it a matter of public discussion,” the source said.
Arun Janardhanan is an experienced and authoritative Tamil Nadu correspondent for The Indian Express. Based in the state, his reporting combines ground-level access with long-form clarity, offering readers a nuanced understanding of South India’s political, judicial, and cultural life - work that reflects both depth of expertise and sustained authority.
Expertise
Geographic Focus: As Tamil Nadu Correspondent focused on politics, crime, faith and disputes, Janardhanan has been also reporting extensively on Sri Lanka, producing a decade-long body of work on its elections, governance, and the aftermath of the Easter Sunday bombings through detailed stories and interviews.
Key Coverage Areas:
State Politics and Governance: Close reporting on the DMK and AIADMK, the emergence of new political actors such as actor Vijay’s TVK, internal party churn, Centre–State tensions, and the role of the Governor.
Legal and Judicial Affairs: Consistent coverage of the Madras High Court, including religion-linked disputes and cases involving state authority and civil liberties.
Investigations: Deep-dive series on landmark cases and unresolved questions, including the Tirupati encounter and the Rajiv Gandhi assassination, alongside multiple investigative series from Tamil Nadu.
Culture, Society, and Crisis: Reporting on cultural organisations, language debates, and disaster coverage—from cyclones to prolonged monsoon emergencies—anchored in on-the-ground detail.
His reporting has been recognised with the Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism.
Beyond journalism, Janardhanan is also a screenwriter; his Malayalam feature film Aarkkariyam was released in 2021. ... Read More
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