No Stupid Court Can Prosecute Me, I’m Param Shiva, Says Rape Accused Nithyananda in Viral Video

New Delhi: Days after the Indian government said it has cancelled the passport of fugitive self-styled godman Nithyananda and rejected his application for a fresh one, a video of the controversial figure has surfaced in which he can be seen confidently boasting that no “stupid court” can bring him to book as he is "param Shiva".

“The whole world is against me, you showed integrity towards me by being here, I will show my integrity to you by revealing the reality and truth to you. Nobody can touch me, I can tell you the truth, I am Param Shiva. Understand? No stupid court can prosecute me for revealing the truth…I am Param Shiva. I guarantee, you don’t have death (sic),” Nithyananda can be heard saying in the video which is being circulated widely on social media.

The self-styled godman had allegedly fled India without a passport to save himself from a rape case registered against him in Karnataka. He is wanted in India for multiple cases of rape and abduction.

On Friday, the ministry of external affairs said Nithyananda's passport was cancelled before its validity was to expire in 2018 and that his application for a new one was also rejected because of the cases pending against him.

Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said that the ministry has sensitised all its missions and posts abroad about Nithyananda. "We have sensitised all our missions and posts and told them to inform local governments about him," he said at the ministry's weekly press briefing.

According to unconfirmed reports, Nithyananda has bought an island in Ecuador in central Latin America and has started calling it an independent, new nation 'Kailaasa'. The country has its own "passport" and the godman has already released a sample of it online

Asked about reports of Nithyananda founding his own country, Kumar said, "Setting up a website is different from setting up a nation."

Earlier on Friday, the Ecuadorian government denied that it has granted asylum to Nithyananda or helped him purchase any land in the South American country. Ecuador's statement came a few days after Nithyananda announced the creation of Kailaasa, a "Hindu homeland", on an island purchased from the country.

The Embassy of Ecuador said the country had, in fact, denied Nithyananda's request for asylum, and he had left the country for Haiti.