I offered my seva regularly to Swami Nityananda: Ranjitha
Bangalore: Tamil actress Ranjitha justifies her acts in an interview with a Tamil website. Says her service was motivated by devotion to the godman. Tamil actress Ranjitha, who went into hiding after being caught on camera while indulging in sexual acts with Swami Nityananda, finally come to fore yesterday. Click here to read all related articles
Clearing her stand, she justified her acts by saying that she was just giving her ‘offerings’ to the godman.
‘True devotee’
In an interview to a Tamil website, Ranjitha said that she has known Nityananda for quite some time and is grateful to him for curing her wheezing trouble in just a day.
A video still that allegedly shows actress Ranjitha and Swami Nityananda indulging in acts of intimacy.
Full-length video
Last evening, news of a CD with full-length visuals (of about two-and-a-half hours), were being sold in the National Market in Gandhi Nagar. However, the police kept a strong vigil and people who went to buy the CD had to return empty-handed
The actress said, "The media has unnecessarily blown the issue out of proportion. I know swamiji for the past few years and my association with him is quite transparent.
As a true devotee, I offered my services like feeding and massaging him regularly in his room. I used to stay with him till late and the ashram inmates knew about it."
Ranjitha, however, was very careful with her words and not once did she talk about the ’sex issue’. She carefully evaded the topic and neither accepted nor denied her sexual acts in the video.
Instead, she strongly denied the allegation that she is trying to cash on the sex video shot by Nityananda’s onetime associate Lenin Karuppan. She said, "I know my Swamiji. He is a great atma and will come out as a pure atma soon."
Happily married
Ranjitha also denied a rift with her husband. "These are mere speculations," she said. Swami Nityananda in the meantime is expected to explain his stand on March 18.
In a press conference on Monday, his press coordinator Nithya Sachithananda said, "The godman’s personal security was at risk. He has been advised to come out only after a few days."
Pointing out that his organisation was consulting legal experts, Sachithananda questioned the technological knowledge of Nityananda’s close aide Lenin Karuppan, alias Dharmananda, who is believed to have secretly filmed Nityananda’s sexcapades in a room within the ashram premises.
‘Smitten’ Ranjitha exposed sex swami
Ashram sources say the Tamil star dreamt of a married life with Nityananda. Is believed to have hatched plot with swami’s personal secretary
Ranjitha, who is three years elder to Nityananda (32), was married to an army officer with two children, when she was introduced to him three years back by veteran star K R Vijaya’s niece Sudha, a full-time devotee.
"She was not a regular visitor in the beginning," said the source. "The swami’s charm gradually made her fall for him and she even decided to shift base from Chennai to Bangalore." Ranjitha filed for divorce some time ago and the matter is pending in the court.
After getting intimate with the swami, she is understood to have asked him to marry her and even got a positive response.
Ashram sources say she could have convinced him by giving the instance of Vidyabhushan of Kukke Subramanya Matt, who renounced his sanyas to marry a medical student.
Lenin Karuppan, a close aide to the swamy, who owned up his role in taping the sexual acts, was also close to Ranjitha and used to call her ‘anni’ (sister-in-law) occasionally. Although Nityananda assured Ranjitha that he would marry her, he was worried about the property worth several hundred crore rupees that he would have to give up along with his sanyas.
Eventually, the swami not only turned down her proposal but also made things worse by seeing other women. A possessive Ranjitha pleaded with him several times and could have turned vindictive when her pleas fell on
deaf ears.
The plot
"I think Karuppan and Ranjitha hatched the plan together," said the source. "I recall that they spoke quite casually to each other since a long time."
Karuppan is also understood to have blackmailed the swami just a month ago but Nityananda was not in a position to oblige.
"Please don’t force me to comment," said Swamy Sevanda, personal secretary to Nityananda. "I know both Karuppan and Ranjitha and also know that they are not honest," he said. There is also an unconfirmed report of Ranjitha attempting suicide on Saturday. She was learnt to be in Kerala yesterday.
‘I’ll come clean’
Meanwhile, Nityananda has uploaded his video statement on his ashram website from an undisclosed location. The statement says that the controversy is a conspiracy hatched against him and he would soon come out clean.
