Rohini ashram case: CBI free to freeze bank accounts of ‘godman’ Virendra Dev Dixit, says HC

The bench said that it is “satisfied by the attempts made by the CBI” in the matter. It noted that the CBI had “furnished details of certain bank accounts” operated by Dixit based upon the “input received from the Financial Intelligence Unit”.

“The CBI shall certainly be free to freeze all accounts by taking appropriate steps in accordance with law,” the bench said. The court thereafter granted the agency six weeks to take further steps in the matter in view of its status report produced before the court. The matter is next listed on November 24.

On May 31, the HC was informed that since March 2018, certain videos were being uploaded either by Dixit or his followers on at least six YouTube channels and social media handles.

Asking the agency to take “appropriate steps” to arrest Dixit, the HC had said that the agency can “certainly initiate the process of a letter of request” under the Code of Criminal Procedure to the “United Kingdom, Bulgaria and Nepal i.e. the places from where the videos are being uploaded”.

In the previous hearing, the HC had also noted that a large number of ashrams are in existence in the country. It had thereafter said that the CBI is “required to investigate who is the owner of the ashrams, from which account the funds have been released towards payment of rent to the owners of the ashram, and the documents on the basis of which the properties have been let out to the residents of the ashram”.