In March 1974, about the same time that the first foreign meditators came to live at the new Vipassana centre in Igatpuri, Chandra Mohan Jain, calling himself Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, relocated from Mumbai to establish an ashram in Pune. He had already developed a reputation as a controversial guru by rejecting traditional religious and ascetic practices and expressing opinions on moral values that were opposed by most ordinary Indians. His young Western devotees, in their maroon or ochre robes, soon became a common sight in the city. Rumours circulated and began to appear in newspapers, containing allegations of drug use and sexual improprieties that tarnished his ashram's image.

Narayan Dasarwar