{
  "id": 11851984,
  "title": "Missing since July, Premanand Maharaj’s teen disciple traced to another ashram",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/04/missing-since-july-premanand-maharajs-teen-disciple-traced-to-another",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-04T04:46:08.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Indian Express",
    "slug": "the-indian-express",
    "url": "https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/lucknow/premanand-maharaj-missing-disciple-traced-barsana-vrindavan-ashram-protest-10905897/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The family of Anuj Chaudhary, a 17-year-old disciple of spiritual guru Premanand Maharaj, had been searching for him for three months as he had gone missing since July. Anuj's family staged a protest near the ashram in Vrindavan, alleging the management had misled them and withheld information about his whereabouts. They later withdrew the protest upon assurances from senior police officials. Anuj was found on Saturday evening at another ashram in Barsana, around 45 km from Vrindavan. Anuj, a Class 12 student, had taken initiation from Premanand Maharaj in July and later returned to his home in Hathras. He then left home, claiming he was going to the ashram, but did not return. His family had filed a missing complaint in Hathras and registered a kidnapping case at the Sahibabad police station. Police stated that they had checked CCTV footage and an apartment where many disciples stay, but the ashram authorities refused to cooperate. The Mathura Senior Superintendent of Police, Shlok Kumar, said they coordinated with Hathras police to trace Anuj and that a person who recognized him alerted the police, leading to his recovery. The family is awaiting police questioning to determine where Anuj had been staying since his disappearance.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}