Interpol issued a blue corner notice to locate self-styled godman Nithyananda on Wednesday, 22 January, on the request of Gujarat Police.
What is a blue corner notice?
The ‘B’ series notice, also called ‘enquiry notice’, is issued to obtain the particulars of a person's criminal record. It is used 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.
Interpol has sought help from other nations to track Nithyananda, who fled India last year amid allegations of rape and sexual abuse.
On 4 December 2019, a blue corner notice application was moved by the Gujarat Police to obtain information about his whereabouts.
‘Will Start Process to Issue Red Corner Notice Soon’
“We have prepared the wanted chargesheet for the blue corner notice and we will now issue a warrant. After this, we will start the process to issue a red corner notice,” a Gujarat Police official told The Quint.
The police official said that the warrant will be issued based on Section 70 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
“We will issue the warrant to every police station in the country and will instruct them to arrest him or convey his whereabouts.”Gujarat Police Official
What is a Red Notice?
It is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action. It is not an international arrest warrant but an international wanted persons notice.
Releases Regular Videos, But Remains Untraceable
According to police sources, Nithyananda fled India via Nepal a year ago, and has not been traceable since. His passport has been cancelled and his application for a fresh one has also been rejected.
However, he has been seen in several videos making bizarre claims in his sermons from undisclosed locations.
He is being investigated in criminal cases, including that of allegedly raping a girl inside his ashram in Karnataka and kidnapping and abusing minors in his Gujarat ashram. An FIR was registered against him after two girls went missing from the ashram. He was arrested in 2010 in Himachal Pradesh after he was seen in an explicit footage with an actress.
Nithyananda recently launched a website announcing that he has established his own country, ‘Kailaasa.’
Amid speculations that he has set up this independent island in Ecuador, the Ecuadorian government denied that it had granted him asylum or helped him purchase any land in the South American country.
The Embassy of Ecuador, in a statement, said that the country had in fact denied Nithyananda's request for asylum and suggested that he may have left for Haiti.
It said that all the information “published in digital and print media in India is based on the information which allegedly has been sourced from https://kailaasa.org, a website which is supposedly maintained by Mr. Nithyananda or by his people”.
‘Nobody Can Touch Me’
In December 2019, the godman had declared that nobody could touch him while adding that no court could prosecute him.
“I will show my integrity to you by revealing the reality and truth to you. Now nobody can touch me, I can tell you the truth - I am Param Shiva. Understand? No stupid court can prosecute me for revealing the truth. I am Param Shiva,” Nithyananda said in the video.
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