DNA India

Swami Nithyananda has approached the high court seeking that the first information report filed against him regarding the recent violence at his ashram be quashed. Swami Nithyananda has

approached the high court seeking that the first information report filed against him regarding the recent violence at his ashram be quashed. A reporter of a news channel, Ajit

Hanamakkanavar, has filed a complaint against Nithyananda over the recent scuffle with his devotees. In his petition, Nithyananda contended that on the day of the incident, the

representatives of the electronic media had come prepared to instigate trouble. The reporter was conducting himself in an unruly manner and his behaviour was intolerable. Nithyananda’s

petition said the reporter had brought ruffians along with him. When the scuffle started, they manhandled the ashramites, including women, and damaged the ashram’s properties. One of the

ashram inmates recorded the proceedings of the press meet and had the footage of the chaos unleashed by the reporter. Further, the petition said that the policemen arrested only a few of

those who caused trouble and did not arrest the mastermind—the reporter. The godman contended that the reporter walked around the ashram arrogantly, presumably to give an impression that he,

being from the media, was free to do anything. The petition is likely to come up for hearing soon. He was arrested in 2010 on charges of rape and other crimes. He was later released on

bail. Last week, he courted fresh trouble when a US-based woman alleged that he had sexually exploited her for five years.