A blue corner notice application has been moved to locate and obtain information on the self-styled godman Nithyananda, the Gujarat police has told The Quint.
This comes a day after the rape-accused and fugitive launched a website announcing that he has established his own country, ‘Kailaasa.’
What is a Blue Corner Notice?
The ‘B’ series notice, also called ‘enquiry notice’, is issued to obtain particulars of a person's criminal record and to locate someone who is missing or is identified as a criminal and whose extradition may be requested. The police services of the member countries will then have to furnish the required information.
According to police sources, Nithyananda fled India via Nepal a year ago, and he has not been traceable since. He is being investigated in criminal cases, including that of allegedly having raped a girl inside his ashram in Karnataka as well as kidnapping and abusing minors in his ashram in Gujarat.
‘Why Can’t B’luru Issue a Red Corner Notice?’: Gujarat Cops
Gujarat Police on Wednesday, 20 November, rescued four minors from a flat in Ahmedabad. The kids alleged that they had been illegally confined, tortured and forced into labour. An FIR was registered against the self-styled godman and two of his followers, Sadhvi Pran Priyananda and Priyatatva Riddhi Kiran, were arrested.
This rescue was made based on the complaint filed by Bengaluru-based Janardhan Sharma, who alleged his two minor kids were confined illegally and his two older kids, Lopamudra Sharma (21) and Nandhitha Janardhana (18) have been kidnapped by Nithyananda.
“Because the case was booked under IPC sections 365 and 344, which are both bailable, we are unable to issue a red corner notice,” he said.
“There is a rape case filed in Bengaluru against Nithyananda, which is a non-bailable offence, but the Bengaluru cops have still not issued a red-corner notice,” said a senior officer.
Legally, Cannot Issue a Red-Corner Notice: Karnataka Cops
“Nithyananda is an accused in one of our (rape) cases. He was arrested, he was in jail for some time and then obtained bail. There is no reason for us to ask for red corner notice, because the trial has begun, and he has attended the trial. Subsequently, he went to the (Karnataka) High Court and got an exemption from personal appearance,” Praveen Sood, Director General Police at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) told The Quint.
A case of rape was registered against Nithyananda in 2010 after a US citizen accused him of raping her for over five years in pretext of spirituality.
Sood pressed upon the fact that the CID had opposed it, but the high court exempted him from personal appearance. “Legally, he is not expected to appear before the court and we can’t ask for red corner notice or arrest him,” he added.
“A red corner notice means somebody is absconding and he needs to be arrested. In our case, he has been arrested, bailed out and exempted from appearing in court.”Praveen Sood, Director General Police at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to The Quint
A Blind Search on for Two Sisters Allegedly Detained by Nithyananda
These developments come just days before the two sisters, Lopamudra and Nandhitha, have to appear before the court. As per the Gujarat High Court order on a ‘habeas corpus’ plea, the sisters should be produced on 10 December.
A senior police officer told The Quint that their efforts to trace the girls have been futile as they have been video conferencing using a proxy server.
“We have been speaking to the girls via Skype and they are refusing to come. The High Court has strictly asked us to produce them and even insisted they will be allowed to do as per their own will. However they are refusing.”Gujarat police to The Quint
The police have even approached the immigration department with passport details of the sister.
“Nandhita is using a proxy server so we are not able to trace her location. Else we could have identified her location in a second and produced her before court,” he added.
Meanwhile, the daughters have released several videos stating they do not wish to return to their parents and that their father is trying to turn them into ‘a weapon against Nithyananda.’
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