Controversial Baikuntha Dham Ashram razed to ground
Bhubaneswar (17/01/2025): Bulldozers on Friday razed to ground the contentious Baikuntha Dham Ashram located at Khandagiri in Bhubaneswar. Following a court directive, the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) demolished the controversial Ashram in the presence of senior officials of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), and Tata Power. To prevent any untoward incident during the eviction, Tata Power disconnected the electrical supply to the premises, rendering the ashram non-operational. One platoon of police force was deployed at the site.
The BDA had issued an ultimatum to vacate the premises by noon today, resulting in evacuation activities commencing last night.
Furniture and other items from the ashram were relocated to alternative locations. Attempts had previously been made to mislead the High Court with inaccurate reports regarding the ashram's occupation status.
However, these attempts failed as the stay order was recently lifted.
Following discussions, the BDA made the decision to proceed with the demolition. The public was urged to cooperate with the officials to ensure a peaceful resolution. The ashram was in the news for the wrong reasons as a minor boy was allegedly being worshipped as Lord Vishnu's 'Kalki' avatar. Odisha Samajsebi Mahasangha had lodged a complaint with the police, alleging that Kashinath Mishra was claiming that his son was an incarnation of Lord Vishnu.
As per the complaint, Mishra had been placing tulsi leaves and Bhagavad Gita at the feet of his son and worshipping him at the ashram. The photos of the boy being worshipped had also gone viral on social media platforms.
