House of Lords event promotes work of a cult leader on the run
Brochure advertises religious group of man wanted over claims of rape and child abduction
THE work of a cult leader wanted in connection with allegations of rape, child abduction and fraud was promoted at an event hosted at the Houses of Parliament.
A full-page advert for his religious group appeared in a commemorative brochure alongside messages of support for the event’s organisers, the Hindu Forum of Britain (HFB), from Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, and former home secretaries Priti Patel and Suella Braverman.
One of his prominent supporters also attended the reception.
The brochure for the HFB’s Diwali celebrations carried a full-page advert for Kailasa UK, led by Sri Nithyananda, a self-styled “Godman” wanted by the Indian authorities over claims of rape and child abduction.
He is on the run and his whereabouts are unknown.
One of his alleged British victims has now spoken publicly for the first time about what she describes as her ordeal.
The health professional said she and her family were “brainwashed” into handing over as much as £600,000 of her family’s savings over a period of five years to help build a golden temple, spiritual retreats and other Nithyananda projects, many of which failed to materialise.
The woman, who asked to remain anonymous, told The Telegraph: “We’d been brainwashed for five years, [thinking] this is a charismatic young man who’s doing so much for humanity.”
She described Kailasa’s advert and the presence of one of Nithyananda’s supporters at a parliamentary event as “a disgrace”.
“I really don’t understand how the HFB didn’t see that he has been wanted by police for several years now,” she said. Kailasa UK, also known as the Nithyananda Meditation Academy UK, is a registered charity founded as part of Sri Nithyananda’s self-styled vision of a “global Hindu community” of groups.
But the 44-year-old guru has been denounced as a fraud by his critics, with the Indian authorities saying he must return to face justice.
The full-page advert for Kailasa UK, which appeared in the HFB’s glossy 50-page brochure for its Diwali event in the Cholmondeley Room, the principal function room of the House of Lords, in October, carried a number of images of the cult leader.
The page next to the advert showed photographs of members of the HFB, an umbrella group representing more than 300 organisations, with Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour Party leader, and other dignitaries.
On nearby pages were also printed messages of support for the HFB from Lord Rami Ranger, chairman of the British Sikh Association; and Bob Blackman, the Conservative MP for Harrow East and chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for British Hindus; along with a photograph of Prime Minister Sunak with a member of the HFB.
The medical professional, who is in her forties, said she became involved in Nithyananda’s organisation along with her mother in 2016, at a time when they were both emotionally vulnerable from the recent loss of her father.
Lord Ranger said he had no knowledge of Nithyananda or his activities and had facilitated the hosting of the event by the HFB only in his capacity as a peer.
He said: “I do not know Kailasa or this person. If I had known I would never have attended an event where such unsavoury characters were promoted.”
Mrs Patel said: “As far as we know this organisation has carried out good work to serve the community and has contributed positively in this country.”
Nithyananda’s legal representatives in the UK deny the allegations against him and say he is being wrongly persecuted as a result of “homophobia on the part of conservative figures in India”.