Nithya in police custody till April 26
This text was machine-transcribed from the printed book and may contain errors. Select the words and choose “Report a mistake”.
Santosh Kumar BN. BANGALORE
Self-styled godman Swamy Nithyananda Paramahamsa was on Thursday remanded in police custody for four days, a day after his arrest in Himachal Pradesh.
Nithyananda, 32, was produced before the chief judicial magistrate Pushpalatha in Ramanagara on Thursday, who sent him to police custody.
The tainted godman was then whisked away to the headquarters of the criminal investigation department (CID) in Bangalore, where he would spend the night.
Earlier, Nithyananda, alias Rajashekaran, was flown down to Bangalore in a Kingfisher flight around 6.40 pm. Security personnel were out in full strength at the airport, even as a battery of media persons waited outside arrival terminal.
jailswami
A bag, reportedly holding the cash, laptops and mobile phones seized from Nithyananda was brought out to a waiting car. At 7.20 pm, Nithyananda and his disciple Nithya Bhaktananda alias Gopal Seelam Reddy walked out of the terminal, surrounded by armed security personnel. Chief investigator and superintendent of police (CID) KN Yogappa also accompanied the accused persons.
The police led the men into a car, which sped away to Ramanagara, about 50km away on the Mysore Road. The men underwent medical check-up at the government hospital there, which took about an hour.
After the medical check-up, Nithyananda was taken to the magistrate's residence at Vivekananda Nagar in Ramanagara around 10.30 pm. However, Reddy was not produced before the magistrate, since the CID had taken him for interrogation. Reddy was arrested for harbouring an absconder.
Nithyananda, clad in saffron robe, appeared unperturbed and sported his trademark smile.
Public prosecutor MM Varad, who argued the case before the magistrate, submitted that the police required the godman for further custody and would file an appropriate application.
The court remanded the godman in police custody as no application was filed by the godman's counsel.
HALE AND HEALTHY: Nithyananda Paramahamsa being brought out of the hospital after a check-up
“The godman is wanted in connection with two cases registered in Coimbatore and Chennai last month but transferred to Bidadi, under various sections of the Indian Penal Code.” —DV Guruprasad, DGP, Corps of Detectives
Past forward
April 22: Nithyananda remanded in police custody, after he was brought to Karnataka via Chandigarh
April 21: The swami arrested from Mamling village in Himachal Pradesh's Solan district
April 18: Two deputy superintendents of police (CID) leave Bangalore for Himachal Pradesh
April 17: Karnataka CID messages Himachal police, says Nithyananda is in that state
April 7: CID raids Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam in Bidadi
March 27: Swami takes the house in Mamling on rent
March 18: Bidadi police re-registers case. Karnataka CID takes over the probe
March 13: Tamil Nadu police transfer the case to Karnataka
March 6: Karuppa Lenin, formerly Sri Nithya Dharmananda, lodges a complaint against Nithyananda, claims he shot the video clips
March 4: Nithyananda's ashram claims the video images were morphed. Says the swami is in Haridwar, attending Maha Kumbh
March 4: Chennai police file cheating case against Nithyananda
March 2: A Tamil TV channel exposes Nithyananda.