Swami Nithyananda, Accused in Rape Case, Rumoured to Have Fled India

New Delhi, December 18: Self-styled godman Swami Nithyananda is rumoured to have fled India, with reports surfacing that he sought political asylum in the Cayman Islands. Swami Nithyananda, an accused of rape and land grabbing, has been missing from his ashram in the outskirts of Bengaluru. No one has seen him in public in the last one month, locals told News18.

According to Nithyananda's disciples, the controversial godman had told some of his close aides that he would be touring pilgrim centres in north India. However, many suspects that Nithyananda has fled India like loan defaulter Vijay Mallya. The police ruled out the possibility of Nithyananda leaving the country as renewal application of his passport was rejected. Swami Nithyananda Video Interview on His 'Inter-life Reincarnation Trust' Plan To Get Money From Billionaires Will Give You 'Thug Life' Feeling.

"I don’t think that he has fled. His passport has expired recently. He can’t travel abroad legally. I was told that he was somewhere in north India. We are verifying it," a top police officer was quoted as saying. "Since there is a serious case against him, the SP has rejected his request for passport renewal. It has expired recently," he added.

40-year-old Nithyananda first hit the headlines in 2010 when a sex tape of him with an actress was shown on a TV channel. Nithyananda, who faces allegations of rape and land grabbing, has served two stints in jail, including 53 days in 2010. He recently drew attention when videos of him making stupid and laughable claims went viral on social media.

Nithyananda, who is a native of Tamil Nadu and his real name is Rajashekharan, had claimed that he could make cows speak in Tamil and Sanskrit.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 18, 2018 05:03 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).