I'm not a man: Nityananda

 I'm not a man, 'godman' Nityananda told CID sleuths

BANGALORE: “I’m not a man. There’s no way I could have indulged in sexual activities with women. Do a potency test on me”. That’s the sum and substance of Swami Nityananda’s startling statements to CID sleuths soon after he was brought to Bangalore after being arrested in Himachal Pradesh.

However, CID sleuths decided to ignore him, believing he was only trying to sidetrack the investigation. The swami’s passport clearly mentions his gender as male, not transgender. The CID plans to take a call on this after receiving the report of the Forensic Science Laboratory, Hyderabad, on a CD that has 36 video clips of Nityananda with at least five different women. The CID had sent the CD to Hyderabad for analysis and hopes to get the report on Friday, sources said.

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) issued a circular to all airports to check items carried by the godman when he travelled in and out of India. According to information collected by DRI, Nityananda would carry gold-plated worship material like kamandalas and slippers to the US.

While returning, he would bring back 24-carat gold of the same size and weight. The look-out notice mentions his gender as male, sources said.

WHERE IS NITYA GOPIKA?

CID sleuths are also searching for Nityananda’s associate called Nitya Gopika, who hasn’t been seen after the salacious videos were aired by the media. Nitya Gopika was his close associate and always travelled with him to the US and handled his personal belongings.

Sleuths haven’t been able to establish her identity. They suspect she was one of the girls who signed Nityananda’s non-disclosure clause. Sleuths suspect Nitya Gopika initiated the video recording after she began to feel insecure when Tamil actress Ranjitha become rather close to the godman. She used his driver Kuruppan Lenin to expose Nityananda’s activities, the sources said.

The sources also suspect that Nitya Gopika is an NRI with a doctorate from the US. After coming to the ashram and signing the non-disclosure agreement, she divorced her husband.