Interpol issues Blue Corner Notice against absconding godman Nithyananda

Interpol issues Blue Corner Notice against absconding godman Nithyananda
(FILES) This file photo taken on June 14, 2012 shows police escorting controversial guru Swami Nityananda (C) after appearing for his bail plea at the judicial magistrate court at Ramanagar District, some 50 km from Bangalore. India's self-styled "godmen" have legions of devoted followers, but several have been embroiled in a series of scandals in recent years. Indian guru Swami Nithyananda faces a series of assault and sexual abuse charges, although he has never been convicted. Five women accused the 40-year-old of abusing them at his Hindu religious retreat in the southern state of Karnataka. He was held in jail for 53 days in 2010 after a sex video scandal. / AFP PHOTO / Manjunath KIRAN

Ahmedabad/New Delhi: Interpol has issued a Blue Corner Notice seeking information about controversial self-styled godman Nithyananda, who fled the country amid allegations of wrongful confinement of children, officials said on Wednesday.

A Blue Corner Notice is issued by the international police cooperation body to collect additional information from its member countries about a person's identity, location or activities in relation to a crime.

The Gujarat Police had sent a request to the CBI, the nodal body for Interpol matters in India, seeking a Blue Corner Notice against Nithyananda, the officials said.

"Interpol issued the Blue Corner Notice against the controversial godman this month," Deputy Superintendent of Police, Ahmedabad (rural), K T Kamariya, told PTI.

The police said they are now working to get Interpol to issue a Red Corner Notice, a global arrest warrant, against Nithyananda.

The Gujarat Police had registered an FIR against Nithyananda after two girls went missing from his ashram in Ahmedabad.

He was charged with kidnapping and wrongful confinement of children to make them collect donations from followers to run his ashram.

Nithyananda was earlier declared wanted by the Gujarat Police.

While police continue to look for him, reports emerged in December last year that he has created a Hindu nation, Kailaasa, with its own flag and political setup, on an island near Ecuador.

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