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Nityananda was active on YouTube
Pratibha Chauhan
Tribune News Service

Slipper flung at swami Bangalore: A man hurled a slipper at controversial self-styled godman Nityananda Swami, arrested for his alleged involvement in a sex scandal, as he was being taken in a police van after being produced before a court in Ramanagara. — PTI

Shimla, April 23
Even in hiding, Swami Nityananda made sure he passed on “cosmic energy” to his disciples the world-over. His medium: the trendy YouTube!

While the country’s police searched high and low for the swami, he was beaming discourses from his house at Mamlik village since March 29. Interrogation of his four arrested disciples, including a software professional and an MBA, revealed that they had converted the living room into a studio.

A wi-fi portable computer network and a portable power back-up unit accompanied the swami and his entourage while on the run from Bangalore to Haridwar, Delhi and finally Himachal before the dramatic arrest. Besides three laptops, video cameras and mobile phones, the swami was using several other high-tech contraptions. The police has sent 12 suitcases containing the self-styled godman’s personal belongings and weighing 367 kg to Bangalore.

“On an average, he made international calls of 45-60 minutes every day to US, New Zealand, Canada, South-East Asia and England using satellite recharging facility,” said a senior police official. The police also has records of several foreign remittances and withdrawals running into lakhs made through American Express ATM cards from Vikrampur near Kunihar during his stay in Himachal from March 27 to April 21.

The swami’s disciples had over Rs 3 lakh and $7,000 with them and were preparing to facilitate his escape from the country to any of the ashram’s global branches.

While remaining in meditation and observing “maun vrat” throughout his detention here, the swami had major objections to being presented before the media. He had to be literally pushed before the cameras by the cops. “I am not running away from the police but the media, which has been hounding me,” he said.