The Vaghelas submitted an affidavit to the commission on Monday, appealing it to summon Asaram for a cross examination. The commission will hold its next hearing on March 9.

They told the commission that the Asaram Ashram officials were hesitant in lodging a police complaint. When they insisted, the officials allegedly told them that they had received instructions from Asaram Bapu to remove the bodies from the riverbed only after performing certain rituals, like rolling up the clothes of the children, picking up seven stones from the crossroad and boiling them in water.

“The entire ritual, as instructed by Asaram Bapu, was performed by one lady of the gurukul named Sushilaben. It was only after performing these rituals, that the bodies were removed from the riverbed,” they stated in the affidavit.