Nithyananda abused children, claims former disciple Lenin

Date:  2010-12-10   Place: Bangalore
Mid Day Archives Later filed case against him in the United States because he was getting 'too big for his shoes' Self-proclaimed godman  Swami Nithyananda's troubles, it seems, are here to stay. New investigations have revealed that the swami had sodomised some of his disciples. Different strokes: Nithya Dharmananda alias Lenin Karuppan, formerly a disciple of  Nithyananda, alleged yesterday that the swami is threatening him to take back the complaint. He claimed that Nithyananda had offered him Rs 20 crore for not filing the complaint. Pic/Ramesh H S An investigating officer said that Nithyananda and his men are allegedly threatening witnesses connected with the case. His sexual romp with men and women was revealed by a witness's statement that was attached with the chargesheet filed by the CID. Sources say that Nithyananda sodomised Vinay Bharadwaj, a disciple, and later booked a criminal case against him because he had 'gotten too big for his shoes'. One of the witnesses, who was repeatedly raped by the swami said that Vinay, who was the spiritual head of a Nithyananda Vedic Temple in the West Coast (US), was removed from the position because of his 'ego'. According to her, Vinay called her in July 2009, and shared information about Nithyananda's relations with many women, and the relationship between him and the swami. According to Vinay, Nithyananda was power-hungry, and loved only himself. But the witness did not converse with him for long, as Nithyananda had directed her to keep her distance from him. Later, Nithyananda told her that Vinay was having ego clashes with him, and had subsequently left the mission. Nithyananda had added that Vinay was spreading false allegations about him. The swami went to the US from September to October 2009, and the witness was with him. During that visit, Nithyananda told her that Vinay had been 'taken care of', and he was not a cause for concern anymore. She says, "After the scandal broke out in March 2010, I found that within 10 days of sending that e-mail to the Ashram, Nithyananda's team had drafted legal documents, which implicated Vinay in false charges. The team also pressurised him to sign the document, and withdraw his statements. If he failed to do so, Nithyananda had threatened him with legal action in the US. Witness tamperingIn the meantime, CID officers alleged that Nithyananda and his henchmen are threatening the witnesses connected with the case. Some witnesses who are in US had agreed to depose before the department, but later developed cold feet. An officer said "We learnt Nithyananda and his disciples were intimidating them." Vinay had agreed in the FIR against the swami that he was a victim of sodomy.  Vinay had agreed to come to India to depose against the swami, but failed to turn up. Later, it was learnt that in order to prevent him from coming to India, a criminal case was booked against him by the Nithyananda Ashram in the US.