Abhay Singh Banned: The Controversial Fall of IITan Baba at Maha Kumbh

Abhay Singh, known as ‘IITan Baba,’ became famous at the Maha Kumbh for claiming to be an aerospace engineer from IIT-Bombay. However, he has now been banned from the Juna Akhara camp, a famous group of holy men. The spokesperson for Juna Akhara, Srimahant Narayan Giri, called Singh an “educated lunatic” and said he disrespected his guru by using bad language against him online.

Giri explained that Singh wasn’t a true sadhu (holy man) and had come from Lucknow just to act like one. Although he arrived at Maha Kumbh with Mahant Someshwar Guru, he didn’t follow the rules of respect for his guru, which is very important in their tradition. Because of his disrespect, Singh was expelled from the akhara.

In response, Singh said he left voluntarily when the akhara’s members wouldn’t let him stay. He wanted to observe how the akhara functioned for four or five days, but things turned sour after he gained attention online. He mentioned that he learns from everyone he meets but also felt that his parents supported his education without much love. Overall, he just wanted to understand more about the akhara’s work, but after becoming famous, everything changed for him.