How Nityananda avoids questioning on sex scandal

Self-styled godman Nityananda, arrested on various charges including rape, has proved to be a hard nut to crack as he slips into dhayan (meditation) mode and feigns illness during interrogation, a top police official said on Wednesday.

During the last six days of his police custody, 'nothing much could be brought out' from Nityananda, charged in connection with alleged sleazy activities, said an official of the Criminal Investigation Department.

Taking advantage of his spiritual standing, Nityananda, arrested from Solan in Himachal Pradesh after remaining in hiding for more than a month, goes into dhayan mode when the police try to question him, the official said. After a long wait for the completion of his 'spiritual' exercise, Nityananda ducks questioning, saying he is ill, the official said.

According to the official, it has not been possible to probe various activities of Nityananda and his ashram at Bidadi near Bangalore. The CID said they have made up their mind about questioning the actress, with whom Nityananda was purportedly shown in a compromising position in video footage telecast by local TV channels, which sparked off the scandal.

"We do not know the whereabouts of the actress so far," the official said. The sessions court in Ramanagaram, 40 km from Bangalore, has remanded Nityananda to police custody after he was arrested in Himachal Pradesh on April 22.

The godman was hospitalised on April 26 after he complained of 'severe chest pain', but was discharged on Tuesday. After landing himself in the controversy, Nityananda has quit as the head of the ashram, and claimed that he will lead a life of 'spiritual seclusion'. 

Meanwhile, Nityananda moved the Madras high court today, seeking anticipatory bail in three cheating cases registered against him in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

According to his petition, one Aladi Mahendran and few others had submitted a 'false' complaint at Orleanpet police station, alleging that the godman had cheated the public, amassed huge properties and insulted religious feelings.

Similar cases were also registered by Angayarkani, an advocate and T M Viswanathan, a freelance reporter, with the Chennai police commissioner and with the Coimbatore Commissioner respectively, the petition said.

"The petitioner submits that without proper verification of facts, the police had registered an FIR," it alleged.

"Even through a prima facie case was not made out in the complaint, on direction and pressure from the de-facto complainant, the respondent had registered a case against the petitioner under 295 (A) (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) and 420 (cheating) of IPC. The petitioner is innocent and has nothing to do with the allegations mentioned in the complaint," it added.