New Delhi, Sep 30 (PTI): The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has discovered that the self-proclaimed preacher, Virender Deo Dixit, who was sought in connection with charges of alleged rape and the mistreatment of his followers at his Rohini ashram, has passed away in 2023, officials confirmed.
The CBI has notified a special court of this development and intends to request the termination of the trial, the officials revealed.
Dixit had been evading arrest after the CBI, acting on the orders of the Delhi High Court, instituted cases against him in 2017.
The investigation into his whereabouts extended to Nepal, with the CBI promising a reward of Rs five lakh for reliable information leading to his capture.
The agency's Hyderabad unit received confirmation of Dixit's death in January 2025, and this has been recently verified, according to CBI officials on Monday, who noted that the relevant court has been apprised.
He was reportedly in his early eighties when he passed away in 2023.
The High Court had earlier instructed the CBI to pursue charges based on accusations that he had illegally detained numerous women at his Rohini ashram, Adhyatmik Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya.
The CBI will seek the abatement of the trial in cases for which it has filed several charge sheets.
Two Look Out Circulars had been issued against Dixit on January 22, 2018, and February 22, 2019.
An Interpol Blue Notice aimed at locating him was also released on the CBI's request on March 26, 2018.
On December 20, 2017, the Delhi High Court directed the CBI to investigate the alleged unlawful confinement of women and girls in a compound described by the court as a "fortress" with metal doors and barbed wire.
The CBI took over the investigation of three FIRs initially lodged by Delhi Police at Vijay Vihar police station in Rohini, related to the allegations.
Two of these cases targeted Dixit for alleged rape and criminal intimidation, while the third involved unknown parties accused of hindering the operations of a high court-appointed committee that visited the ashram on December 19, 2017.
The court mandated the CBI to look into the FIRs filed against the Rohini-based ashram and its leader, Dixit, including daily journal entries that recorded complaints about missing girls, sexual misconduct, and even a suicide case at the location.
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