BENGALURU: Controversial self-styled Godman Nithyananda is in the news again for all the wrong reasons. One of his old devotees, who was allegedly a victim of sexual assault by Nithyananda, has accused him of uploading a porn video on YouTube.
The police have registered an FIR in this connection.
The 45-year-old woman, who is a resident of Chennai, lodged a complaint with the Cyber Crime police last week. According to her complaint, she came to know from an acquaintance that a video named ‘porn star’ was available on YouTube and the video had her face morphed with an obscene content.
“As the video was also available on other online platforms, viewers are posting abusive and vulgar messages about me and I am being harassed online,” she stated, adding that Paramahamsa Nithyananda of Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam in Bidadi and his followers, on his instigation, had uploaded the video.
The police, who took up her complaint, registered an FIR under section 67A (publishing or transmitting of material containing sexually explicit act) of the Information Technology Act, and sections 354C (voyeurism) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the IPC.
However, Nithyananda has not been named as an accused in the FIR, and his name features only in the complaint summary.
As part of the probe, the police will summon Nithyananda and other suspects for questioning if their preliminary probe points to their involvement behind the offence.
“We have received the complaint and registered an FIR. We can not name anyone as accused till we get some evidence against him,” a Cyber Crime police official said.
2010 case under trial
The woman, who has filed the case, is a witness in the 2010 case in which Nithyananda is accused of raping some of the devotees, including the complainant. The complaint was filed by Lenin Karuppan and the case is under trial in a Ramanagar court.