Two Sisters Who Went Missing From Godman Nithyananda's Ashram To Depose In Court From US

Adding a fresh twist to the ongoing saga around controversial self-styled godman Nithyananda, the two women who had allegedly gone missing from his Ahmedabad Ashram have told the Gujarat high court that they are with the fugitive spiritual leader on their own free will.?

The two girls, Lopamudra Sharma (21) and Nandhitha Sharma (18), daughters of Janardhana Sharma, a Tamil Nadu based businessman told the court that they fear harm from their father if the come back to India.?

The duo filed the affidavit in the court in response to a habeas corpus petition by their father alleging that his daughters were being held against their will by Nithyananda.Citing threats to their lives the two sisters said they cannot appear before the court physically.?

The court, however, insisted that the two sisters should appear before it in person. The lawyer representing the two sisters then said that it is ready to address the high court through video conferencing from the Indian high commission from either the USA or any country in the West Indies.?

?According to Sharma, his four children were initially enrolled at the Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam at Nithyananda Nagara, Bidadi, Bengaluru in 2013. But the children were shifted to Ahmedabad without notice last year and two minor children were returned but the two adult daughters were kept in the ashram and the authorities did not even allow the parents to meet them.?

Nithyananda who runs a network of ashrams in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Gujarat had gone missing after Sharma filed a complaint with the Gujarat Police.The 41-year-old godman who is believed to have fled India is said to be hiding somewhere in the Caribbean.?

From his undisclosed hideout, Nithyananda has been posting videos mocking the police and even announced the formation of a Hindu nation called Kailaasa. It is said that Nithyananda has purchased an island from Ecuador, on which his so-called Hindu nation has been founded.?

On Monday, his official Facebook handle claimed, "Some governments have officially approached us and invited us to have Kailaasa settlement in their place".In the rambling and seemingly disjointed post, which has been titled as "powerful cognitions" from his Satsang, Nithyananda claims "We will start working with them. Nithyananda's statement claims that with the blessings of the gods and goddesses, "We will have not only space but a place for Kailaasa! Because the governments themselves have approached us".?

Intriguingly, in the statement, the new nation is called both Kailasha and Kailaasa!Nithyananda claims that "suddenly in the last few days, social media has started talking" about Kailaasa and were not talking about the "lies and rumours" that are being spread. Providing numbers, Nithyananda claimed, "8 lakh people are visiting the Kailaasa website per day, 1 lakh were becoming members per day and 12 lakh people were applying for e-citizenship".?

Providing details about his new nation, Nithyananda writes, "We are the only nation with no tax, completely run on voluntary contribution". Nithyananda adds Kailaasa also does not have an army. "We only pray to Param Shiva. Param Shiva and Mahakala Bhairava protect us. This is the only protection we have,” Nithyananda wrote.