Kumbh Sub-Divisional Magistrate Rajeev Rai said, “A complaint was submitted to us requesting to reject applications from Nithyananda and Yogi Satyam for camps at the venue as both were facing rape charges.”(Representational Image)The Kumbh administration Wednesday said it had rejected applications of Swami Nithyananda and Yogi Satyam seeking space to raise camps at the mela venue, after a police report confirmed that they were facing rape charges.
Kumbh Sub-Divisional Magistrate Rajeev Rai said, “A complaint was submitted to us requesting to reject applications from Nithyananda and Yogi Satyam for camps at the venue as both were facing rape charges. We forwarded the complaint to police seeking a report in this regard. The police confirmed the same.”
“After verifying details of the cases against the two, the administration decided not to allot land to Nithyananda and Yogi Satyam in order to avoid any controversy and ensure that the environment of the mela is not disturbed,” added Rai.
In 2010, a video purportedly showing Nithyananda in a compromising position with an actress were aired by news channels. He was later arrested in Himachal Pradesh.
An FIR was lodged at the Colonelganj police station in Prayagraj against Yogi Satyam and five others in June on charges of rape, forcibly detaining and threatening a woman.
“Investigation is still on. The accused have not been arrested so far,” SHO of Colonelganj police station Satyendra Singh said.
Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad (ABAP) president, Narendra Giri, said, “The administration’s decision (on Nithyananda) is wrong. The case against him is pending in court. But ABAP has decided not to intervene into the matter.”
However, he said that ABAP had put Yogi Satyam in a list of “fake babas” as he does not qualify the parameters set by the parishad. “I support the administration’s move as such a person should not be allowed to raise camp at Kumbh Mela,” he said.
