Swami Nithyananda booked, two disciples held for 'kidnapping' children

Ahmedabad: An FIR was registered against self-styled godman Swami Nithyananda on the charges of alleged kidnapping and wrongful confinement of children to make them collect donations from followers to run his ashram in Ahmedabad in Gujarat.

The police arrested Sadhvi Pranpriyananda and Priyatatva Riddhi Kiran, both women disciples of the controversial godman, on charges of allegedly kidnapping at least four children, keeping them in illegal confinement in a flat and using them as child labourers to promote activities of the ashram to collect donations.

Nithyananda was booked on the similar charges after police recorded statements of the four children who were rescued from a flat and the ashram, 'Yogini Sarvagyapeetham', a police officer said.

Sadhvi Pran Priyananda and Priyatatva Riddhi Kiran are responsible for managing the ashram, he said.

"We have arrested two disciples of Swami Nithyananda after two children in the age group of 9 and 10 years enrolled at the ashram told us that they were tortured and made to work as child labour and kept in an illegal confinement at a flat in the city for over ten days.

"Similar allegations were made by two other children rescued from the ashram on the basis of a complaint filed by their parents," Deputy Superintendent of Police (Ahmedabad rural), K T Kamariya said.

The accused persons have been booked under sections 365 (kidnapping or abducting with intent to secretly and wrongfully confine a person), 344 (wrongful confinement for ten or more days), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), and 502 (sale of printed or engraved substance containing defamatory matter) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

They have also been booked under section 14 of the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, the police officer said.

"The two children (rescued from the flat) have been handed over to the child welfare committee which is questioning them and trying to locate their parents," Kamariya said.

"The rescued children told police that they were forced to take part in a religious ritual and were harassed. They were being made to work for the ashram by force to collect donation from followers by sharing and uploading various ritual materials," the DySP said.

Gujarat HC issues notice

Meanwhile, the Gujarat High Court on Wednesday issued notices to the self-styled godman and the state government on a plea filed by Janardhana Sharma, the father of four daughters who were allegedly kidnapped by the ashram 'Yogini Sarvagyapeetham.'

A division bench of justices S R Brahmbhatt and V P Patel issued notices to the respondents, including the state government, DGP, police officers concerned, child welfare committee chairman as well as Nithyananda and Maa Pranpriya, the co-ordinator of Ahmedabad-based ashram.

The petitioner alleged that officials of the ashram were not allowing him and his wife to meet their two daughters staying there.

Sharma said the police recently managed to rescue their two other daughters, both minors, lodged in the same ashram.

While police rescued his minor daughters, his two elder daughters - Lopamudra (21) and Nandhitha Sharma (18) - were still under "detention" at the ashram and not being allowed to meet their parents, Sharma has said in his "habeas corpus" petition.

A habeas corpus plea is a petition which is filed to ensure a person under arrest is brought before a court which will determine whether the detention is legal.

The petitioner has requested the high court to direct police and other authorities to produce their elder daughters, who he alleged are being kept under "illegal confinement", before the court and hand them over to their parents.

Apart from seeking their custody, the petitioner has also sought the HC's direction for an inquiry regarding all other minors kept at the ashram and appropriate action against the swami and his disciples, if required.

The petitioner told the court that he had admitted his four daughters, then aged seven to 15 years, to an educational institution run by Nithyananda in Bengaluru in 2013.

When they learnt that their daughters were this year shifted to Yogini Sarvagyapeetham, situated on the premises of Delhi Public School in Ahmedabad, they tried to meet them.

The Yogini Sarvagyapeetham is a branch of Nithyananda Dhyanpeetham, another institute run by the controversial godman.

However, officials of the ashram refused to let them meet their daughters, the petitioner alleged.

With help from police, the parents visited the ashram and managed to bring back their minor daughters, but their elder daughters refused to accompany them, according to the petition.

The couple alleged that their two younger daughters rescued by police were kidnapped and kept in illegal confinement for more than two weeks and were deprived of sleep.