Rape, Torture: Cases Against Fugitive 'Godman' Nithyananda

Self-styled godman Nithyananda has surfaced in the news once again. This comes a few years after he fled India and formed his own country the "United States of Kailasa". Kailasa representatives recently attended a United Nations meeting in Geneva on February 24. Pictures of Kailasa representatives with ambassadors of different countries were also posted from Nithyananda's Twitter handle.

Nithyananda has a verified Twitter handle, though it is subscribed to Twitter Blue, with the name 'Kailasa's SPH Nithyananda'. SPH stands for 'Supreme Pontiff of Hinduism'. The location in the bio says 'Los Angeles'.

"Kailasa is the first sovereign state for Hindus," the woman, who introduces herself as the permanent ambassador of the 'United States of Kailasa', can be heard saying in a video shared by the UN. She further says that the "country" is established by the 'Supreme Pontiff" Nithyananda.

"Kailasa has been implementing the ancient Hindu policies and indigenous solutions in alignment with the time-tested Hindu principles," she can be heard saying in the video, adding that Kailasa has been "successful" in terms of sustainable development.

Nithyananda is the founder of a religious organisation in India called Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam.

While he was involved in several scandals, he ran into trouble in 2018 after a Karnataka trial court framed rape charges against him. A year later, a Bengaluru-based couple alleged that two of their daughters were kidnapped and held at Nithyananda's ashram in Ahmedabad.

Here is all you need to know about the accusations against Nithyananda:

Rape Charges against Nithyananda

-Nithyananda was booked in 2010 for allegedly raping a disciple. According to The News Minute, he is accused of raping a woman disciple for nearly five years while she stayed at his ashram between 2004 and 2009. He faced trials under several sections of the Indian Penal Code pertaining to rape, unnatural sex, cheating and criminal abetment.

Torture allegations

-A woman died at the ashram in 2014 after she was accused by other members of the ashram of stealing pen drives. While it was said that she died of a heart attack, 24-year-old Sangeetha Arjunan's family alleged she was tortured. A report in The News Minute reported that her family alleged that in 2013 the girl came home with bruises on her body and alleged that ashram members had restricted her movement as well. The family also said that there were swellings and bruises on her dead body.

Illegal confinement of children

-In 2019, two of his aides were arrested for kidnapping and wrongful confinement of children at one of his ashrams in Ahmedabad. The Hindu reported saying that at least four children were held "illegally" in a flat and were used as "child labourers" to collect donations for the ashram.

-While a manhunt was launched to nab Nithyananda, Gujarat Police in November 2019 said that he had fled the country.