Interpol issues blue corner notice against Nithyananda

The Interpol has issued a blue corner notice seeking information about controversial self-styled godman Nithyananda, who fled the country amid allegations of wrongful confinement of children, officials said on Wednesday (January 22).

Based on a request from Gujarat police, the Interpol issued a blue-corner notice. A blue corner notice is issued by the international police cooperation body to collect additional information from its member countries about a persons identity, location or activities in relation to a crime.

The Gujarat police had sent a request to the CBI, the nodal body for Interpol matters in India, seeking a blue corner notice against Nithyananda, the officials said. “Interpol issued the blue corner notice against the controversial godman this month,” Deputy Superintendent of Police, Ahmedabad (rural), KT Kamariya, told PTI.

The police said they are now working to get Interpol to issue a red corner notice, a global arrest warrant, against Nithyananda.

The Gujarat police had registered an FIR against Nithyananda after two girls went missing from his ashram in Ahmedabad. He was charged with kidnapping and wrongful confinement of children to make them collect donations from followers to run his ashram. He was arrested in 2010 in Himachal Pradesh over rape allegations and was also allegedly seen in explicit footage with an actress.

Nithyananda was earlier declared wanted by the Gujarat police. While police continue to look for him, reports emerged in December last year that he has created a Hindu nation, Kailaasa, with its own flag and political setup, on an island near Ecuador. However, the Embassy of Ecuador also denied his presence and buying an island.

(With inputs from PTI)