Bengaluru: The news of controversial Godman Swamy Nithyananda’s long absence from his Bengaluru ashram has triggered rumours of him having fled the country to Cayman Islands.
Unconfirmed sources say that he has fled the country to escape the law. Some even say that he has already sought political asylum in Cayman Islands.
Locals say that they have not seen him in public in the last one month. One of his disciples confirmed with a national news channel that his close aides claim that he is touring the pilgrimage centres in North India.
Few others suspect that he has fled the country to escape the law on the lines of businessmen Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya.
According to sources, a top police officer doubted the fleeing theory as Nithyananda’s passport had expired recently and he cannot travel abroad legally. The police are verifying the information of his North India pilgrimage.
B Dayananda, Inspector General of Police (IGP) of Central Range, under whose jurisdiction Nithyananda’s ashram falls, confirmed that that the Superintendent of Police (SP) of Ramanagara district Ramesh Bhanoth has rejected the renewal application of his passport on legal grounds.
“Since there is a serious case against him, the SP has rejected his request for passport renewal. It has expired recently,” he said.
Nithyananda is accused of imitating Osho Rajneesh’s preachings adding his cheap wit to it. This has attracted him many disciples in the ever growing ‘godmen’ market in India. He is over 40 years old and has his ashram at Bidadi on Bangalore–Mysore Highway since 20 years. His real name is Rajashekharan and is a native of Tamil Nadu. Nithyananda, first hit the national headlines for his alleged video in a compromising position with
an actress in the early 2010.
Among his disciples are young professionals and some foreigners. His ashram has become famous for the wrong reasons during the last 10 years for the alleged unscrupulous activities in its huge campus. His ashram was raided by the police. He was arrested twice and was later released on bail.
During last August, he was chargesheeted by the police for allegedly raping a female disciple at his ashram in 2010. The Supreme Court had directed a local court to complete the trial on priority. The trial has begun three months ago.
Nithyananda is infamous for making irrational claims like making cows talk in Tamil and Sanskrit. His comments on Einstein’s Theory of Relativity has him a laughing stock on the social media with trolls too having a field day. The social media has ridiculed him for his discussions with T V Mohandas Pai, former HR Director of Infosys.
