Nithyanandha in Varanasi , will return on March 18

Even as speculation continues over the whereabouts of Swami Nithyananda, who is at the centre of a controversy now, his lawyer on Friday claimed that the godman had not absconded but was in Varanasi. “He is attending the Kumbh Mela, along with 4,000 devotees from world over, and is scheduled to return on March 18,” M Shreedhar, who is representing the godman in Madras High Court, told .

Asked about Nithyananda’s association with the woman seen with him in the video that had created a furore, Shreedhar said the film star started visiting the ashram to overcome depression caused by a failed marriage and soon became a devotee of the swami. Nithyananda was seen in a compromising position with the actress in the video aired by a Tamil TV channel recently.


Asserting that the clippings in the video were morphed, the advocate said the image of the actress too was fake.

“The woman in the clippings always has her neck covered, which is typical of a morphed video,” he said.

“Besides, her bindi is intact in all the scenes. The bedroom too is brightly lit,” he added.

Asked about the whereabouts of the actress, he said she would not appear in public now, as she would be forced to file a complaint against the swami. “This, she would never do,” he added.

Alleging that ego clash among inmates in the ashram could have resulted in the making of the video, he conceded that money too could have had a major role to play.

Shreedhar alleged that the group that made the video and the TV channel that aired it had “struck a deal”.

The TV channel demanded Rs 50 crore from the swami, the advocate claimed.