Interpol blue notice against Nithyananda

ACCORDING TO THE INTERPOL, A BLUE NOTICE IS ISSUED TO COLLECT INFO ABOUT A PERSON’S IDENTITY, LOCATION OR ACTIVITIES IN RELATION TO A CRIME

NEW DELHI: Global law enforcement organisation Interpol has issued a blue notice based on a Gujarat police request to locate self-styled guru Nithyananda, who has been on the run after being accused of rape, people familiar with the matter said.

A blue notice, unlike a red notice, does not require police in foreign countries to arrest the subject. According to the Interpol’s classification, a blue notice is issued to collect information about a person’s identity, location or activities in relation to a crime. The information is not placed in the public domain.

“The Interpol issued the blue notice against the controversial godman this month,” said a Gujarat police officer on condition of anonymity. The Gujarat police will now seek a red notice.

Red notices are requests issued to Interpol’s 194 member states worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest fugitives wanted either for prosecution or to serve a sentence. Interpol publishes red notices at the request of a member country. A red notice is an international wanted person notice, but not an arrest warrant, and Interpol cannot compel any country to arrest someone, according to the Interpol website.

Nithyananda is believed to have travelled to Nepal before heading to an undisclosed destination last year even as his passport had been cancelled.

The external affairs ministry has said Nithyananda’s passport issued in 2008 was cancelled in September 2018. He applied for a fresh passport, but he was denied police clearance. A fresh case was registered against him in November 2019 after two girls went missing from his ashram in Ahmedabad. The Gujarat police have said he had fled the country as authorities were gathering evidence against him after two of his disciples were arrested. Nithyananda, who has a pending rape case in Karnataka, was booked on charges of kidnapping and illegally confining children.