“Godman” Nithyananda, who was on the run for the last six days, surfaced in Ramanagara district, about 60 km from Bengaluru, and sought bail before a magistrate on Wednesday. But the judicial officer rejected the petition and sent him to one-day police custody.
The Ramanagara police, who were searching for the “godman” in a case related to sexual harassment at his Bidadi ashram, were clueless about his whereabouts. He arrived at the district sessions court at 2.40 pm in a Skoda car with Kerala registration (KL 11 AA 9669), giving the hint that he was in Kerala, even as Karnataka chief minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda was seeking his arrest and the police began searching his ashram. He was accompanied by a dozen disciples.
“He had not come to surrender. He appeared before the court with a bail petition. But the magistrate issued a one-day police custody and his case will be heard on Thursday,” said Ramanagara SP Anupam Agarwal.
Nithyananda walked into the court with media and the public trying to get a glimpse of him.
The magistrate allowed only his disciples, advocate and the police into the court.
District magistrate Komala first ordered that Nithyananda should be sent to judicial custody. But when Mr Agarwal requested for the godman’s custody, the magistrate handed him over to the police for a day. Mr Agarwal said that Nithyananda will not be taken to jail, but will be interrogated at a safe house.
Thousands of people had gathered at the court to protest against Nithyananda.
The angry public attacked his disciples, including women. They were rescued when others arrived in four-wheelers and took them away.
A few miscreants beat up a lawyer mistaking him to be Nithyananda’s follower as he was in mufti. The lawyer ran inside the court and got his colleagues to support him. They were angry that the police let in a large number of people and reporters onto the premises. The lawyers even warned mediapersons that they would face an attack similar to that at the City Civil Court complex in Bengaluru, when advocates fought pitched battles with the police earlier this year.