How were those children protected? Kelly posted this-

e-mail dated 18th March 2001
Hi Deepak,

The reason I have contacted you is about something that has been bothering me for some time, and it’s not a pleasant subject, namely, the Jagdeo issue.

I’m sure you are fully familiar with the allegations against him going back many years, but I have only recently read all the information about this on the ex-premie website, including the accounts of his victims, in particular Susan and A, and there is no doubt in my mind that they are true. There is also no doubt in my mind that Maharaji has known about it for some time.

I am hoping you can fill in some gaps for me and also perhaps reassure me. You see, I witnessed a couple of incidents while staying in the IOC that now worry me greatly. In particular, I remember the youngest of the housekeeping staff; she only looked about 13 or 14, crying her eyes out because she didn’t want to go to Mahatma ji’s room to perform some ‘service’ for him. The older women were teasing her and I got the impression that she would not say why. Anyway, I couldn’t make head nor tail of it, and it was not my business so I just left it. Although I do remember how thoroughly miserable she was the whole time I was there.

I’m sure you can understand what concerns me now. I saw how he lived, and how he was treated. Basically he was waited on hand and foot, and he was in a position of respect with all the authority and power of a Mahatma. He could easily have used this position, as he had in the past with Susan, A, and many others, to continue to satisfy his perverted sexual desires with the young housekeeping staff and maybe other younger children elsewhere in the ashram.

So, as you can imagine, I have many questions, like: -

Did you or anyone else in authority in the ashram know of these allegations?
When did you find out? And what did you do about it?
Did you question him about it? And what did he say?
Did Maharaji question him about it?
Did Maharaji talk to you about it? And what did he say?
I understand Jagdeo has left the ashram, is that because of the allegations?
When did he go? And where has he gone?
Have any measures been taken to ensure he cannot continue this behaviour?
Have any enquiries been carried out among the ashram staff to see if he was indulging in paedophile behaviour while living in the ashram?

I’m sorry to put it bluntly like that but those are the obvious questions that would come to anyone’s mind. They certainly come to my mind and I find that I am quite haunted by them. I was a victim of sexual abuse as a child and I know the lasting damage it can do. I spent a lot of time talking with Jagdeo (at meal-times especially!) and I am quite shocked by all this. Which is why I am appealing to you in person to answer my questions.

In the bigger picture, the general impression I get from the ex-premies is that Maharaji should have and could have acted on this issue years ago, and that by failing to take action he has probably enabled Jagdeo to continue to abuse young girls and boys all over the world, including in India, for many years.
There is no doubt in my mind that this single issue is responsible for a lot of people losing faith in Maharaji, becoming disillusioned and leaving. It is not going to go away until it has been properly addressed by the appropriate people. In this case, I think it’s down to Maharaji himself, and to Elan Vital to take the initiative.

I realise this is heavy duty stuff to suddenly bring up out of the blue, but I do hope you can take some time to answer. If you would prefer to talk on the phone please give me a call and I will call you back at my expense. I seem to have lost your home phone number, but if you send it with a convenient time for me to call, I’ll call you there. My phone number is *********
With many fond memories of my time in the ashram, including fighting off the red stripe gang!
All best wishes,
Karen

e-mail dated 2nd April 2001

Dear Deepak,

Thanks for phoning me on Friday; I really appreciate you taking the time to talk to me. It was a bad line for me, I could hear my own voice echoing all the time and you were rather faint so I was shouting, sorry about that! So anyway, just to re-cap on our conversation.

As I understand it, the first you heard of the allegations against Jagdeo was when they came out on the ex-premie website, you said maybe 1999, and that you then took the evidence to Jagdeo, and along with one or two others you interviewed him about it. He was very upset and totally denied it. You told him to go away and think about it for some time, and then you interviewed him again? (I wasn’t clear about this) and he still denied it, but that eventually he came to you in tears and said that with this hanging over his head, he could not stay in the ashram, and he left. As far as you know, he went back to his family, but that you do not know for sure where he is now.

I understand that you spoke with Maharaji about this, and that he told you that prior to 1999 he had not heard about it, and that, knowing how strict M has been in the past with any Mahatma who stepped out of line, that you believe he could not possibly have known about it or he would certainly have taken action. Also you said that because he has such a sharp memory, he could not have forgotten about it.

You think it is most likely that the people Susan spoke to had failed to pass it on to M, and that, in fact you had spoken to Randy Prouty about it and he had said that he had not clearly understood what Susan had told him. When I mentioned that Susan had then told Judy Osborne about it and what she had reported back to Susan, i.e. that M had heard about it and was glad it was not a new incident, you had no information on that.

You explained to me that people are always asking you to pass messages on to M and that it puts you in an awkward position, so you tell them to write to him. I said it was a shame that neither Susan nor A had ever heard from him about this. In fact, although I have heard M say that he personally reads every letter that is sent to him, I consider this somewhat unlikely and have certainly heard of other instances where genuine grievances have remained unacknowledged.

The one thing that I feel we did not properly address in the phone call was my concern about the incident that I witnessed involving the young housekeeping girl and my worries that Jagdeo may have been abusing her and others. You expressed your certainty that nothing like that could go on in the ashram, that you have very strict rules etc. But you did not say whether you had conducted any investigation to check on this.

I have talked to ******about this, and of course she knows the housekeeping staff much better than me. The incident I witnessed was before she arrived. She does not rule out that my suspicions may be justified, but she has not read the allegations against Jagdeo and only has a vague idea of what they are. She does offer another explanation of why a young girl would be crying and not want to go to Mahatma ji’s room. From her observation, (mine too) all the housekeeping staff were terrified and oppressed by him. He was a very demanding man, he had them all running around for him day and night. He was so fussy and particular, everything had to be done perfectly, and he wore them out. So she is not surprised that one of them was crying because she did not want to go to his room. This in itself presents a picture of an abusive authority figure who exploited his position of power for his own benefit. However, she also feels that the staff should be questioned about it, but that it would need to be done very sensitively, and by a qualified person and probably a woman. It would be no good you asking them Deepak, because they are all in awe of you, and would not speak freely.

Deepak, I urge you to do everything you can to find out the truth about this. I believe very strongly that he was guilty of some terrible acts of sexual abuse on young children in the West. Because of my own past experience, I have read up on the subject and I know that paedophiles do not change their habits without treatment, and even then, they often don’t. I also have personal experience of a convicted sex offender and am familiar with the ability to totally deny it, and lie about it, and cry about it.

I would still like some reassurance that Jagdeo is no longer in a position to commit any more paedophile acts. I don’t know what the law is in India about this, or how much protection there is for children. I suspect it may well be less than in this country. Perhaps you could give me some information on this? I do know that many people are also anxious to know whether any measures have been taken to safeguard children in the community where he is now living. Can you do anything about this? Or find out?

I know you were shocked and upset by my original letter, and I realise you will find this one equally upsetting. I know how much you love and respect Maharaji and how sincere you are, I can hear it loud and clear in your voice. I also feel very sincere about trying to uncover the truth about Jagdeo, and to do what I can, even at this late date, to see some justice done and to help Susan, A and his other victims, at the very least, to get some acknowledgement for what they have suffered. I personally think this really needs to come from Maharaji himself.

Could you confirm that I have accurately recorded the relevant points of our conversation? I would really like to be able to tell Susan and A about the current situation, and any more information you have would also be very welcome.

Once again, thanks for phoning me, I am really pleased that you are open to a free discussion on this very difficult subject.

With my very best wishes