Chargesheet filed against godman Nityananada

BANGALORE - The Karnataka Police have filed a 430-page chargesheet against self-styled godman Nityananda and four associates, a lady included on charges of unnatural sex, cheating and intimidation.

The document was filed in the chief judicial magistrate court at Bidadi, about 40 km from here.

The chargesheet was filed Saturday for indulging in unnatural sex, cheating, criminal intimidation and criminal conspiracy, Deputy Inspector General K.S.R Charan Reddy told reporters here Monday.

The four other associates — Bhaktananda, Satchidananda, Sadananda and Maa Sachidananda alias Ragini — have been charged with harbouring the godman, destroying evidence and indulging in criminal conspiracy with Nityananda.

The lady devotee (Maa Satchitananda) has been charged with assisting the main accused (Nityananda) in committing rape and unnatural sex with many women devotees, Reddy said.

The godman was arrested April 21 near Solan in Himachal Pradesh along with Bhaktananda while he was on the run since early March after Tamil television channels telecast video clippings showing him having sex with a film actress.

Nityananda and Bhaktananda have been on bail since June.

The chargesheet has been drafted on the basis of evidence and statements from 105 witnesses across the country and overseas. We have also collected several incriminating documents, including non-disclosure agreements from the godman’s ashram and other devotees, Reddy said.

Nityananda, who hails from Tamil Nadu, has a sprawling ashram at Bidadi on the Bangalore-Mysore state highway in the adjacent Ramanagara district.

The evidence and other material are substantial to prove the godman guilty in a court of law. The agreements reveal how Nityananda forced lady devotees to consent for tantric sex to attain enlightenment, Reddy pointed out.

On the compact disc (CD) given by the godman’s one-time associate Lenin to the police, Reddy said forensic experts confirmed that it was genuine and the person found in compromising positions with a lady was similar to the godman.

We have also recorded a statement by another woman devotee who accused the godman of raping her repeatedly in the Bidadi ashram and at other places in the country, Reddy added.