NEW DELHI: The case of Nithyananda took a political turn with Congress questioning the fleeing of the controversial self-styled godman even as Gujarat police launched a hunt to track him down.
A case has been registered against Nithyananda for allegedly kidnapping and wrongfully confining children to make them collect donations from followers to run his ashram in Ahmedabad.
The chief spokesperson of the Congress, Randeep Surjewala, tweeted: "This man (Nithyananda) has also run away under the nose of BJP-led Gujarat government, please tell now what is this relation called."
Meanwhile, the Gujarat Police has said that it is in touch with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and other agencies to know the whereabouts of self-styled godman Swami Nithyananda.
The police on Thursday had said that Nithyananda has fled the country, and the police are working to gather concrete evidence against him.
Ahmedabad Rural Superintendent of Police (SP) R.V. Asari told IANS, "We have registered a case against Nithyananda and others and arrested two of his disciples Sadhvi Pran Priyananda and Priyatatva Riddhi Kiran on charges of allegedly kidnapping at least four children, keeping them in illegal confinement in a flat and using them as child labourers to promote the activities of the ashram to collect donations."
When asked about the whereabouts of Nithyananda, Asari said, "We are in touch with various other agencies to know the whereabouts of the godman."
Another senior police officer related to the probe said that the two disciples of Nithyananda were arrested after two children in the age group of 9 and 10 years, enrolled at the ashram, told the cops that they were tortured and made to work as child labour and kept in illegal confinement at a flat in the city for over ten days.
He said the accused persons have been booked under sections for kidnapping, wrongful confinement, voluntarily causing hurt, intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace, and sale of printed or engraved substance containing defamatory matter of the Indian Penal Code.