PARENTS OF DEEPESH AND ABHISHEK VAGHELA (COLLECTIVE).

▮ Identity sealed · POCSO §23

Family member

Ahmedabad, Gujarat

“The parents of Deepesh and Abhishek Vaghela have waged a collective, fifteen-year legal battle against Asaram Bapu's trust following the 2008 gurukul deaths. The families have staged protests and filed multiple appeals, rejecting official reports that cleared the cult's leadership.”

This collective refers to the parents of Deepesh and Abhishek Vaghela (specifically fathers Praful and Shantilal Vaghela and their spouses), who are related as brothers and resided in Ahmedabad. Following the mysterious deaths of their sons at the Motera gurukul in July 2008, the families united to lead a campaign against the Sant Shri Asaramji Bapu Trust.

The collective organized the initial protests that shut down parts of Ahmedabad in 2008, demanding a CBI investigation and the arrest of the gurukul administrators. They testified before the Trivedi Judicial Commission, presenting arguments that the boys had been murdered and that the ashram had covered up evidence. They also rejected the commission's 2019 report clearing Asaram Bapu, describing it as a political whitewash.

The families funded their collective legal battle through personal savings and contributions from local supporters. They filed multiple appeals in the Gujarat High Court and sessions courts, challenging the CID's decision to charge the ashram officials only with negligence rather than murder. Their legal campaign continued for over fifteen years, representing a persistent challenge to the trust's administrative impunity.

In early 2025, the Ahmedabad sessions court rejected their final plea for a CBI probe, but the families declared that they would continue to seek justice. The collective's struggle is recognized as a key example of parental resilience, serving as a precursor to the subsequent legal actions that eventually dismantled the godman's spiritual empire. They continue to reside in Ahmedabad.