New Delhi: A blue-corner notice has been issued by Interpol on the request of Gujarat police which has asked nations to help locate Nithyananda, the self-declared godman who fled India last year amid allegations of rape and sexual abuse. When a blue corner notice is issued, it is compulsory for a country to share information about a criminal or crime that has been committed.
In recent months, Nithyananda has only been seen in videos making bizarre claims in sermons from undisclosed locations. He however, has refrained from posting videos for the last couple of months.
Ecuador had denied the presence of the fugitive ‘godman’ last month and said it had rejected his request for asylum. The Embassy of Ecuador also suggested he had left the country for Haiti. Ecuador has denied Nithyananda’s claim of buying an island in the country and calling it ‘Kailasa’.
Nithyananda is wanted by the police in Gujarat and Karnataka in a case of kidnapping and keeping children captive at his ashram in Ahmedabad for the purpose of collecting donations. An FIR was also registered against him after two girls went missing from the ashram.
Nithyananda was arrested in 2010 in Himachal Pradesh over rape allegations and was also allegedly seen in explicit footage with an actress.
In December, the government cancelled his passport and also rejected his application for a fresh one. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said all its missions and posts abroad had been instructed to help locate Nithyananda.
Agencies