New delhi,March 04:SHIV Murat Dwivedi, alias Ichchadhari Sant Swami Bhimanand Ji Maharaj Chitrakoot Wale, probably thought the name ‘ Sai’ would be a perfect cover- up for sleaze.
The 39- year- old spiritual guru, who has been accused of running a sex racket in the city, was first arrested in 1997, for indulging in flesh trade under the garb of a massage parlour — Sai Massage Parlour — in south Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar.
After his arrest, Dwivedi turned wiser.
He seemed to have realised spiritualism was the best way possible way to avoid suspicion. And within no time, his ‘ business’ started flourishing, said an investigating official.
The probe so far has revealed that Dwivedi wanted to construct more temples.He was reportedly eyeing heavy donations — as much as Rs 100 crore — from abroad.
The police on Wednesday moved an application for Dwivedi’s custody before a city court. The officials said they wanted to question him for some more time.According to a senior police officer, Dwivedi used to earn in crores. One of his diaries, seized by the police, mentions a Rs 10- crore business deal.
He also allegedly ran a website for providing escort services in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. So far, the police have not been able to make much headway in their interrogation.
Metropolitan magistrate Ravinder Singh, who was approached by the police for the permission to interrogate Dwivedi in custody, has fixed further hearing for Thursday.
But Dwivedi’s counsel said once an accused was remanded to judicial custody, the police could not seek his custody unless there were special reasons.
The accused had a right to know the grounds for his custodial interrogation, the advocate said.
LAST week, a Delhi- based spiritual guru was arrested for allegedly running a flesh racket. And now, a god man in Tamil Nadu has featured in a sex video.
The video shows a couple, allegedly Swami Nityanand Paramahamsa and famous south Indian actress Ranjitha, sharing some intimate moments.
The film has shocked the followers of Nityanand, a young and hugely popular spiritual guru with ashrams in India and abroad, whose smiling face had evolved into a brand over the past few years.
The video, which is selling like hot cakes in the market, was aired by Sun TV in Chennai.
Nityanand, who is from Thiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu, has been missing since then.
But Sevananda, the manager of Nityanand’s Bangalore- based ashram, on Wednesday filed a police complaint saying he had received threat calls from Chennai. The manager claimed the caller had demanded a huge amount of money to not release the sleazy video footage to the media. He said the clippings had been morphed.
Soon after the video was aired, many Hindu organisations and the youth and student bodies of the Left parties staged demonstrations in front of Nityanand’s various ashrams.
Nityanand is the founder of the Nityanand Dhyanapeetam, which has centres all over the world. He has set up the Life Bliss Foundation in the US to spread his teachings on meditation and enlightenment.
Though it’s not clear where the video has been shot, it is said to be either Thiruvannamalai or Nityanand’s sprawling ashram near Bangalore.
Reacting to the development, Tamil Nadu chief minister M. Karunanidhi has said the endowments department would constitute a committee to look into the functioning of the various mutts and ashrams that have sprouted all over the state.
The Karnataka government has also ordered a probe into the property owned by Nityanand, who owns a 70- acre ashram in Bidadi, 18 km from Bangalore. “ We have received complaints that he has encroached on the land owned by the poor. We have ordered an inquiry,” law minister S. Suresh said on Wednesday.
Of the 70 acres, 30 had been donated by Nagaraja Shetty, a Bangalore- based businessman, to the ashram trust. Shetty had accused Nityanand of attempting to transfer some portion of this land in his name.
“ Fifteen years ago, the swamiji came to us seeking land for the ashram. We agreed to transfer 30 acres to the ashram trust. But he wanted the land to be registered in his name. When we refused, we received several death threats from his aides. We had lodged a police complaint, but no action was taken,” Shetty said.
Anjanappa, a farmer, also accused Nityanand of encroaching upon 1.5 acres of his land.
The high- profile spiritual guru had many VIP followers, including politicians and actors. Karnataka chief minister B. S. Yeddyurappa, senior Congress leader D. K. Shivakumar and many BJP leaders were regulars at Nityanand’s ashram . The issue rocked the state assembly on Wednesday, with the legislators urging the government to take over the ashram properties.
Earlier in the day, after the tapes were aired, local residents ransacked the Bidadi ashram. They destroyed furniture and torched some portion of the ashram.
According to the police, the villagers did not like Nityanand.
Shankaraiah, the deputy superintendent of police ( Ramanagaram), said the spiritual guru spoke to the villagers only twice a year. “ Probably, this instigated them against him. We have arrested eight people,” he said.