NVIEWS

SADHU OR SHAITAAN
Swami Nithyanand's Sex Tapes Truth and Lies
The alleged video tape of Sawami Nithyanand Paramhamsa caught in sexual act with a leading Tamil actress has
provided a huge sensational and entertainment value. However, once the initial euphoria is over this episode has
triggered a debate, answers to it are hard to piece together.
The debate roughly centers around; Are most god man conman? What were the reasons for the sting operation? Is
this tape genuine? Do media have the license to enter into the privacy of an individual? Can bedrooms be protected
from the lens eyes? Where the media is heading in this digital age?
Swami Nithyanand Paramhamsa, 32, is a young god man who claim to have 45 lakh devotees spread over to 17
countries. In India most of his followers come from the southern states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
SADHUORSHAITAAN
A video still that allegedly shows actress Ranjitha and Swami Nityananda indulging in acts of intimacy.
On March 2, 2010, a popular TV channel Sun TV in Chennai
repeatedly telecast Swami Nithyanand's alleged bedroom
acts with a Tamil actress in a very sensational manner. Next
day some Tamil print publication like Dinakaran, Tamil
Murasu and Nakkeeran also published this story with much
spice and juice.The god men who are called Swamys are
supposedly celibates or 'Brahmacharis.' They are not
expected to indulge in worldly pleasures like sex. Such
people are epitome of high moral integrity and supposedly
to have godly characteristics. It's because of such virtues
people get attracted towards them and shows their faith
towards them and worships them. There are so many such
Swami in the country each having a huge following.
However, the faith of the people was completely shaken
when the TV Channel beamed the sex romp of Swami
Nithyanand with an actress. The tape showing the Swami in
a compromising position enraged his devotees around the
country. People came out to the streets, burned his effigies,
pull down his posters and even vandalized his ashram. The
incensed villagers residing in the vicinity of his sprawling
ashram Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam near Bidadi in
Karnataka and they attacked the devotees staying there.
There were also protest reported from several other places
in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Even though this case is not
the first of its kind, it has tarnished the image of all the god
men or swami and seen as conmen corrupting society and
indulging in acts that do not commemorate to their holy
status. After the sex scandal, two cases have been filed
against the Swami Nithyananda in Tamil Nadu and
Karnataka for cheating and offending religious sentiments
of the people. The Tamil Nadu and Karnataka government
has ordered a high level of inquiry into the matter after
consulting state representatives from various religious
trusts and institutions.
Who is the actress in the sex tape?
Who is the renowned Tamil actress found in bed with the Swami
Nithyananda? The popular gossip is that she is Tamil actress
Ranjitha. It's reported that the film star started visiting the
ashram to overcome depression caused by a failed marriage
and soon became a devotee of the Swami. After the breaking
off the scandal no one knows the whereabouts of the actress.
She has not appeared in public not said anything for or against
to come clean. This leads to speculation whether the girl who
appeared in the video is actually Ranjitha? Will she ever come
to public on this issue, or she will be forced to file a complaint
against the swami is something that's being speculated.
What are the reasons for sting operation?
There are several theories doing rounds that prompted this
sting operation. According to some, ego clash among inmates
in the ashram have resulted in the making of the video. It's
alleged that one of the inmates of the ashram, Premananda
alias Lenin Karuppan, with an intention to defame Swami
Nithyanand has used the information technology had
morphed his face and released the video clippings. Some
argue after Nithyanand's rival was exposed a day before, this
tape appeared in public and in both the cases an insidious
connection is seen.
Some say money had a major role to play in the making of
the sex tapes. The loose talk is that those who made the
video and the TV channel that aired the scandal had a struck
a deal. A huge sum has changed for airing of the sex tape.
The other theory that is doing round is the TV channel with
huge political clout had demanded Rs 50 crore from Swami
Nithyanand, but when that was refused, the sting operation
was planned with the help a female decoy. Another theory is
the sex tape might be result of property dispute. There is no
end to gossip mongering.
 The scandal involving Nityanand is just the latest
in a string of controversies involving GODMEN
Swami Paramhansa Nityanand: The founder of the
Nityanand mission, which claims to have 1,000 branches
across 33 countries, has been untraceable since certain
Tamil TV channels recently aired a video which allegedly
shows him in a compromising position with a Tamil
actress. Nityanand, who has ashrams in Tamil Nadu,
Karnataka and Puducherry, hails from Tamil Nadu and has a
sprawling ashram in Bidadi, 30 km from Bangalore. He
claims to lead a worldwide movement for meditation and
peace. Lenin Karuppan, a former disciple, has said that he
shot the video to expose the swami. Lenin has alleged that
his life has been under threat from the swami, adding that
he also suspected foul play behind the death of a woman
inmate a year ago. In the complaint filed with Chennai City
Police Commissioner T Rajendran, Lenin, who claimed to be
an inmate of the ashram in Bangalore since 2006, said the
swami used to lure young women devotees claiming that
he was the reincarnation of Lord Krishna.
Anup Kumar Sahay: A self-proclaimed godman in
Ghaziabad, he was booked on Sunday for abducting his
cousin. According to a complaint filed by Subha Srivastava,
mother of the victim, the accused along with his brother
Ashok Kumar Sahay abducted her daughter Priyanka
Srivastava on February 15. The self-proclaimed godman
has been booked under sections 363, 313 and 366 of the
IPC which pertain to kidnapping and forcing a woman to
undergo abortion without her will.
Kripaluji Maharaj: Ram Kripal Tripathi aka Kripaluji
Maharaj, at whose ashram near Pratapgarh in UP 63 people
died in a stampede last week, was charged with
kidnapping and rape in two cases in Nagpur in 1991. He was
acquitted after the witnesses turned hostile. He was
arrested in 2007 after a Guyanese woman in South Trinidad
filed a rape case against him.
Sant Swami Bhimanand Ji Maharaj Chitrakoot Wale: Shiv
Murti Dwivedi alias Sant Swami Bhimanand Ji Maharaj
Chitrakoot Wale (39), a self-styled godman, was arrested
by the Delhi Police last month on charges of operating a
high-profile sex racket involving former airhostesses and
students.
Asaram Bapu: Two minor boys of the Asaram Ashram-run
gurukul in Ahmedabad were found dead in the Sabarmati
riverbed two days after they mysteriously went missing
from the gurukul in February 2008. The police booked
Asaram Bapu in a criminal case pertaining to attempt to
murder last year in December on the basis of a complaint
filed by Raju Chandak, a former disciple of Asaram.
Chandak was shot at by two persons on December 5 and
he sustained injuries on his chest and shoulders. Chandak
alleged that he was targeted at the behest of Asaram, as
he had testified before the D K Trivedi Commission
probing into the death of the two boys.
Jayendra Saraswati: The influential Kanchi math
Shankaracharya was arrested by the Tamil Nadu Police in
Mehboobnagar in Andhra Pradesh in November 2004 in
connection with the murder of a former accountant of the
math.
Santosh Madhavan: The temple priest-turned-astrologer
wanted by the Interpol — was arrested in Alappuzha in
May 2008. Apart from a Rs 50 lakh fraud case that has a
Dubai-based businesswoman as the complainant,
Madhavan, who had turned himself into Swami
Amritachaitanya presiding over a posh ashram and
flaunting high connections in the state’s political circle
and the bureaucracy, was also charged with raping a 15-
year-old girl repeatedly.
Premananda: Also known as Trichy Sai Baba, he was