Golwalla: cult leader?

Quoting the Boston Herald an e-mail from Bejan Malbari, dated March 25, 2004, forwarded to Parsiana on April 20, 2004 by Noshir Patel, alleges grave misdemeanors against 36-year-old Feroze Golwalla. Said to have been working on his master’s degree at Wheaton College from 1999 to 2001, Golwalla is "accused of recruiting at least six former students from the College” to his Baruch Ha Shem cult with "promises of a better life and a closer relationship with God,” alleges NBC5’s Jennifer Mitchell, further notes the e-mail.

According to the e-mail two former students who had been living with Golwalla in Maryland "went to authorities claiming years of mental, physical and sexual abuse. The allegations include beatings, being forced to stay awake for days at a time, being told to injure themselves and (others) and rape.”

Said to be of Pakistani origin, Gol­walla is wanted by Maryland state police on assault charges. He is alleged to have beaten up a pair of twin brothers in 2002 when the group returned from a Wheaton College sanctioned trip to Pakistan, according to the Herald report. One man was stated to have been beaten so badly that blood poured from his ears when Golwalla’s strikes were alleged to have ruptured his eardrum.

The former students who had followed Golwalla to Maryland and Texas had escaped recently. They claimed that in addition to severe beatings Golwalla pulled out their hair and made them lick the bathroom floor.

Parents of three former students are said to be considering legal action against Wheaton College for failing to protect their children from an "evil cult leader.” According to the Herald report Golwalla had lured the children into "a cult that engaged in ritualistic torture.” Though the parents reported his controversial practices to College officials, the authorities took no action, continuing to support Golwalla’s "Parsi Missionary team” — a program which Golwalla allegedly ran to help the Parsi people of Iran, according to published reports. A statement released by Wheaton College denied knowledge of such allegations during Golwalla’s enrollment there.

Though Golwalla could not be reached for comment, according to the e-mail, the Herald reported that he had been spotted preaching a week earlier at a Christian women’s conference in Bemidji, Minnesota while NBC5 stated that he was believed to be in the Texas area. They expect that there may be more victims who have yet to come forward.