Recently, there were some shocking reports about fugitive Nithyananda referred to as Swamy by his ‘believers’ buying an island and setting up a ‘Hindu Rashtra’ by the name ‘Kailaasa’. He was believed to have purchased an island from Ecuador, a country located in South America’s west coast. The island would have been, by implication, in close proximity to Ecuador.
Back in India, the self-styled fake Godman is wanted by agencies on charges of rape, torture, kidnapping and forced confinement of children.
However, the Ecuador government has now denied reports of having granting asylum to Nithyananda or having helped him purchase any land or island in the South American country. A statement by the Embassy of Ecuador read, “The Embassy of Ecuador categorically denies the statement, wherever published, that self styled Guru Nithyananda was given asylum by Ecuador or has been helped by the government of Ecuador in purchasing any land or island in South America near or far from Ecuador.”
It further stated, “Moreover, Ecuador denied the request for international personal protection (refuge) made by Mr. Nithyananda before Ecuador and later on, Mr. Nithyananda left Ecuador presumably on his way to Haiti.”
The Embassy has also said that all the information published in digital and print media in India has been allegedly sourced from https://kailaasa.org, a website maintained by Nithyananda or his men.
The Embassy has also urged media houses to refrain from citing Ecuador in any information related to the self-styled fake Godman.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has also said that it has called Nithyananda’s passport and has also rejected his application for a new one. MEA spokesperson, Raveesh Kumar said, “We have sensitised all our missions and posts and told them to inform local governments about him.” As far as Nithyananda founding his own country is concerned, the MEA spokesperson said, “We have sensitised all our missions and posts and told them to inform local governments about him.”
It is therefore now clear that Nithyananda, who is wanted in several cases in India had only found a website as opposed to the reports of his establishing a new country, and currently, he is roaming around, without a valid passport, in search of asylum. It has been speculated that the self-styled fake Godman had fled to Nepal after charges were framed against him in a rape case, and from there to a South American nation on a fake Venuzuealen passport.
Nithyananda’s case is really a testament of how harshly the Modi government has, and continues to deal with fugitive criminals. India has been able to leverage its bilateral relations in order to crack down on fugitive criminals either by ensuring that they are denied asylum or by ensuring that the extradition process is carried out smoothly.
Banking on the improved bilateral relations with countries across the world, Modi government has been able to successfully lobby when it comes to bringing back fugitive criminals and prosecuting them within India’s jurisdiction. In fact, post-2014, India has been on an extradition spree. Last year itself, Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh had said, “In the last three years, 11 fugitive criminals from various foreign countries, including the recent extradition of Christian Michel from UAE, were successfully brought back to India.”
India has therefore been able to successfully capitalise on its bilateral relations when it comes to bringing back fugitive criminals, leading to several high profile extraditions including that of Christian Michel, British middlemen accused of handling and routing over 60 million euros for kickbacks in the deal for Agusta Westland helicopters.
India is also pushing for the extradition of some other high profile fugitives including Mehul Choksi, especially after reports of Antigua revoking his citizenship. In fact, the Antiguan Prime Minister, Gaston Browne had said, “Choksi’s citizenship was processed, he got through. We do have recourse, the reality is that his citizenship will be revoked and he will be deported to India.” India has also made significant inroads in the extradition of liquor baron, Vijay Mallya’s extradition from the UK. In February this year, the UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid reportedly signed the order to extradite Vijay Mallya. The UK Home Office had also confirmed that having carefully considered the matter, the UK home secretary signed the order for Mallya’s extradition. With this, India has moved closer to the extradition of the ‘wilful defaulter’. Similarly, there have been favourable signs when it comes to radical Islamic preacher, Zakir Naik’s extradition from Malaysia, with a senior minister in the Malaysian cabinet, M Kulasegaran making it clear, “It’s time for the fugitive foreigner to leave Malaysia and to face charges of terrorism and money-laundering charges in India.”
India has been able to get several prominent fugitive criminals extradited successfully, while it has made significant progress in bringing back several other absconding individuals who are facing serious charges within India. Close bilateral relations are at the core of India’s extradition spree, and similarly ensuring that such fugitives don’t get asylum in other countries is another aspect of Modi government’s successful policy to deal harshly with such individuals. Nithyananda’s case stands testimony to India’s exploits when it comes to capitalising on diplomatic relations for tackling fugitives.