India, June 21 -- A former student of the now-defunct Family Foundation School in New York has alleged that troubled students were subjected to severe abuse, including strip searches, confinement in closets, and being forced to dig their own graves while at the institution.

The survivor also alleged that local authorities failed to act on reports of abuse due to the influence of the school's wealthy owners.

The lawsuit claims students were "encased" in rolled-up rugs bound with duct tape, forced to eat their own vomit, made to dig graves and lie inside them, confined in closets without food, water, or bathroom access for days, and physically abused.

The alleged work included digging excavation trenches on the family estate, shoveling s...