'I challenge them to undergo narco test'

BANGALORE: "I challenge them to undergo a narco analysis test," Neither the followers of Swami Nithyananda nor his opponents are ready to take a step back in the fight.

Recently, some disciples of Swami Nithyananda volunteered to undergo narco analysis and said it was the first time that the accused have asked for the test.

They said police have filed cases against them based on false complaints by Lenin Karuppan, the man who passed on the video CDs of the swami with actress Ranjitha.

Reacting to their statement, even Lenin Karuppan (alias Nithya Dharmananda), in an exclusive interview with the Express, said he too was ready to take the test to prove his allegations.

Karuppan said he has all the evidence to prove his charges against Nithyananda and his coterie.

"I challenge them to undergo narco analysis test," he said. "I too am volunteering to undergo the test if they are ready for the same."

He said Nithyananda derived sadistic pleasure out of punishing his disciples.

He said the swami attended a review meeting between 8 am and 11 am at Dhyanapeetam to review the progress of activities at the ashram.

"Nithyananda gets a sadistic satisfaction by punishing those disciples who fail to achieve the target," said Karuppan.

He said there were 16 departments to look after the activities of the dhyanapeetam.

"I was in-charge of marketing Nithyananda's CDs and books," he said. "I had to sell a certain number of CDs and books to meet the target set by Nithyananda. If I failed, he asked me to do 100 to 200 sit-ups."

Karuppan said the number of sit-ups depended on the physical condition of the errant disciple.

He said Nithyananda was a good mid reader and an expert in studying body language. "Locking him up in prison will be a service to society," he said.

Karuppan, before joining Dhyanapeetham, was associated with the Ramakrishna Mission for 10 years.

"I attended Nithyananda's meetings in Chennai in 2004," he said, adding that he joined Dhyanapeetam as a brahmachari in August 2006. "I believed him like God," he said.

Talking about what made him come out against the swami, he said one of Nithyananda's secretaries told him about his sexual relationship with selective disciples and devotees.

"Initially, I did not believe him but was shocked when he handed over a memory card with recordings of Nithyananda's sexual activities," he said.

He said Nithyananda never practiced what he preached.

"I became his disciple in the hope of getting enlightenment," Karuppan said. "But was disappointed when I came to know about his sexual activities. He is like a virus to Hinduism. Nithyananda is set to ruin Hinduism with his sadistic and sexual desires."

Karuppan was kept under surveillance between January and February 2010 at Dhyanapeetam.

"I had commented to one of his trusted disciples that the Dhyanapeetam may become history like the Titanic ship that sunk in the sea," he said. "The disciple informed Nithyananda about my comment."

He said after that the swami instructed his trusted disciples to keep an eye on him. "He even delayed his Tamil Nadu tour by five hours just to convince me. Finally, he asked me to accompany him," he said. "During the tour, he wanted to know what made me to make such comments and, while in Coimbatore, he directed me to handover the CD."

Karuppan said the swami was agitated and disappointed when he did not follow his directive. "Finally, I had to escape while I was the hostage of his disciples at Sirahapadi near Salem," he said.

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