BANGALORE: In a new twist to the case of sexual assault against him, godman Swamy Nithyananda on Tuesday announced that he will be shifting base to Thiruvannamalai. The announcement came just a day after he was forced to undergo a ‘potency test’ at the Victoria Hospital.
Nithyananda was charged with rape based on a complaint filed by a former disciple, in 2010. Nithyananda refuted these charges, claiming that sexually, he was a six-year-old, and unable to perform sexual acts.
The Supreme Court, hearing Nithyananda’s case had, about 10 days ago, directed him to undergo the medical tests, which would prove whether or not he was capable of performing sexual acts. On Monday, the godman underwent a penile Doppler test which would ascertain whether he could have an erection, a psychological assessment done to ascertain whether he underwent any kind of sexual trauma at any point during his life and later, voice tests at the Forensic Sciences Laboratory at Madiwala.
The tests at Victoria Hospital began at 7 am and went on till 2.30 pm. Hospital authorities said that Nithyananda was conscious and consented to all tests.
Although the report was expected to be given to the CID on Tuesday afternoon, it is yet to be done so.
Following the tests, at the Tuesday morning Satsang (sermon and prayer meeting), Nithyananda announced that he will be leaving his ashram at Bidadi and moving to Thiruvannamalai. “I am shifting my residence back to Thiruvannamalai. I will be coming to Bangalore only to attend legal needs,” he said.
The charge of the ashram will be given to Kannadiga Swamis, he added, many of whom reside at the Bidadi ashram.
The shift is likely to take place in the next few weeks, while the Thiruvannamalai ashram is being readied for him.