[triarmarm]

Spiritual leader Swami Nithyananda seems to have been dragged into a fresh controversy, with latest reports stating that a former devotee of the guru has been accused of rape by a US-based woman, also an ex-devotee of Nithyananda.

This week a 32-year-old married NRI lady based in the US, is reported to have registered a complaint at Colaba Police Station in Mumbai, accusing an NRI doctor of brainwashing her and raping her over the course of four years.

The lady is said to have told the police, “He (the accused) would tell me that he is Shiva and I am Parvati. He would lace my drinks with drugs and rape me.” Since the duo is reported to have frequented Nithyananda’s ashram in Los Angeles in 2008, the controversial Swami’s name is being drawn into this case too, with references of a different ongoing case on the self-styled godman.

“Swami Nithyananda’s name seems to have become synonymous with controversy,” commented his spokesperson Dale Bhagwagar. “Countless people visit Nithyananda’s ashrams worldwide all the time. The Swami cannot be held responsible or linked to whatever all those people choose to do in their private lives,” he added, making a point.