TN: Man held on rape charges sent to judicial custody

Chennai, Feb 16 The owner of a mental asylum at Villupuram in Tamil Nadu arrested on charges of rape and physical assault, was on Thursday remanded to judicial custody, an official said.

Jubin Baby, 45, a native of Ernakulam in Kerala, has been charged with multiple offences including rape and physically assaulting destitute and mentally ill individuals at the Anbu Jyothi Ashram, which does not have a license for operating the facility.

Following his arrest, Baby was admitted to the Mundiyambakkam hospital after he complained of uneasiness.

A court directed the police to send him to judicial custody after his discharge from the General Hospital.

The police conducted a raid at his destitute home after a case was filed about a missing inmate.

In December 2021, A. Halideen admitted his friend Salim Khan's uncle Jabarullah (75) to Anbu Jyothi Ashram.

Later, when Khan, along with Halideen, went to the Ashram to meet Jabarullah in August 2022, the elderly person was found missing there.

A complaint was lodged in Kedar police station and later, in December 2022, a case was filed following which the Madras High Court ordered the police to conduct a search.

Eventually, a raid was conducted last Friday.

Also, a female inmate at the shelter had filed a rape complaint against Jubin Baby and he was booked under charges of raping a person with disabilities.

The police said the raid was conducted while keeping in mind several charges, including an absence of a license to run such a home, rape of a woman inmate, and a missing man.

Villupuram District Disabled Rehabilitation Officer (DDRO), C. Thangavelu told that the Anbu Jyothi Ashram did not have a proper license to function since 2017, and the application filed in 2022 by the Ashram was also rejected.

The DDRO had filed a complaint with the Kedar police and eight persons including a woman were arrested and later remanded to judicial custody.