Nityananda to be flown to Bangalore today

Self-styled godman Nityananda Swami, who was arrested on Wednesday from the house of a Delhi-based businessman in Solan in Himachal Pradesh, will be produced in a Bangalore court on Thursday.
The controversial godman had gone into hiding after a purported video footage showing him in a compromising position with a Tamil actress was aired on local TV channels in March. Four of his associates were also arrested.
The arrests were made by a Karnataka Crime Investigation Department team and policemen from Himachal Pradesh in Mamlig village under the Arki police station area in Solan district, Deputy Commissioner, Solan, Amar Singh Rathore, said.
32-year-old Nityananda and his associates, including his close aide, Nitya Bhaktananda alias Gopal Seelam Reddy, were taken to Shimla, 45 kms from Arki, to be produced before a court on Thursday for a transit remand to take them to Bangalore, DIG in Himachal Pradesh CID, N Venugopal, said.
They were arrested after the authorities tracked a mobile phone with a Himachal Pradesh SIM card to establish their location, Superintendent of Police, Solan, Prem Kumar Thakur, said.
Police did not disclose the name of the Delhi-based businessman.
Others arrested were identified as Mitha Sanathan Nanda, Arpil Sangil and Arun Raj, Thakur said, adding that Rs three lakhs in cash, about 7000 US dollars, three video cameras and three laptops were found in the house.
Karnataka Corps of Detectives DGP D V Guruprasad told PTI in Bangalore that two deputy superintendents of police had reached Solan on April 17 following information that Nityananda could be living there. There were reports that he had attended the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar.
Nityananda is wanted in connection with two cases registered at Bidadi, about 35 kms from Bangalore.
Guruprasad said the CID on Tuesday had conducted searches in Nityananda's ashram and seized some 'important' documents and a computer hard disc.