Self-styled preacher Virender Deo Dixit wanted in rape cases has died, CBI tells court
New Delhi (PTI): The CBI has learnt that self-styled preacher Virender Deo Dixit, who was wanted in cases of alleged rape and mistreatment of his disciples at his Rohini ashram, had died in 2023, officials said.
The agency has already informed a special court and will now seek abatement of the trial, they said.
Dixit, against whom an Interpol Blue Notice was issued in 2018, was allegedly on the run after the CBI registered cases against him on the orders of the Delhi High Court in 2017.
The CBI had been on his trail, with the search going up to Nepal. The agency had also announced a reward of Rs five lakh for anyone giving credible information about him.
The Hyderabad unit of the agency got the information about the death of Dixit in January 2025 which was confirmed recently, officials said on Monday, adding the court has been informed.
He was in his early eighties at the time of his demise in 2023, they said.
The High Court had directed the CBI to register cases on the allegations that he had confined several women at his ashram, Adhyatmik Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya, in Rohini here.
The agency will now seek the abatement of the trial in the case in which it had filed several charge sheets, they said.
The agency had issued two Look Out Circulars on January 22, 2018 and February 22, 2019, against him. An Interpol Blue notice to locate him was also issued on the request of the CBI on March 26, 2018.
The Delhi High Court had on December 20, 2017, directed the CBI to investigate the alleged illegal confinement of girls and women in the ashram where they were kept in "animal-like" conditions behind metal doors in a "fortress" surrounded by barbed wire.
The CBI has taken over the probe into the three FIRs registered by Delhi Police at Vijay Vihar police station in Rohini by re-registering them, CBI officials had said.
Two cases were against Dixit for alleged rape and criminal intimidation, while one case is against unidentified people for allegedly obstructing the work of a high court-appointed committee which went to the ashram on December 19, 2017.
The court had asked the CBI to investigate the FIRs lodged in Delhi against the Rohini-based ashram and its founder-cum-spiritual head Dixit and the daily diary entries relating to complaints of missing girls, commission of sexual offences and even a case of suicide there.
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Karnataka tanks hold strong water storage: Minister Boseraju
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Minister N S Boseraju on Tuesday said that minor irrigation tanks across the state are holding good water storage levels, with the 3,788 tanks under the department’s jurisdiction providing life-sustaining water to a large agricultural command area of approximately 4,45,009 hectares.
In a statement, the Minister for Minor Irrigation, Boseraju, said that according to the latest data released by the department, a vast majority of the 3,788 minor irrigation tanks in the state have maintained good water levels.
Detailing the storage status, the report said that even in peak summer, 165 tanks are full.
Additionally, 1,355 tanks have retained more than 51 per cent capacity, 1,143 tanks have water levels up to 50 per cent, and 959 tanks are at roughly 30 per cent storage capacity.
District-wise, Davanagere leads the state in water storage, with 27 tanks remaining full even during summer. Chikkamagaluru follows closely with 46 full tanks, indicating strong water retention.
Other top-performing districts include Hassan, Tumakuru, and Kolar.
Boseraju, who also holds the portfolio of Science and Technology, said 1,184 tanks are being actively filled through 145 tank-filling lift irrigation projects under the Minor Irrigation Department.
He attributed the strong water retention to good monsoon rainfall and effective water management strategies of the government.
“It is encouraging to see such a substantial volume of water stored across our minor irrigation tanks by the end of March, remaining largely intact even as summer progresses. The fact that 1,355 tanks are nearly full and 165 tanks are brimming is a testament to the success of our tank-filling programmes and rejuvenation initiatives,” he said.
“By ensuring a continuous flow of water to these tanks through lift irrigation projects across departments, as well as supplying treated and surface water to the Bayaluseeme districts, we have taken proactive measures to prevent them from drying out during the summer,” the minister said.
According to him, these data points confirm that efforts to build a water-secure Karnataka are yielding strong results at the grassroots level.
“This water wealth preserved in our tanks will bring direct benefits to lakhs of farmers across the 4,45,009-hectare command area,” he added.
