He confessed during interrogation that he had paid Rs 10 crore as ransom to a journalist for not releasing the now-infamous romance clips.
Investigations have revealed that Swami Nithyananda was blackmailed just before the scandal broke out.
During interrogation, Nithyananda confessed before CID investigators that a journalist allegedly took Rs 10 crore as ransom from one of his followers with a promise that he would not make the CDs public.
Deal gone bad: Nithyananda confessed that after bargaining for the ransom, the amount was paid by one of his disciples. FILE PIC
Pay up or else
Nithyananda said that the journalist (name withheld) came to meet him with an advocate before the scam broke out. He then informed Nithyananda that he was in possession of some video clips, and would release them to the media if he has not paid Rs 25 crore.
Nithyananda confessed that after bargaining, the amount was brought down to Rs 10 crore and was paid by one of his disciples.
"It shows Nithyananda's role in the scam as he readily consented to pay the amount. If he is not guilty he could have filed a complaint," said a police officer who is part of the investigations.
Following the swami Ironically, Tamil Film actress Ranjitha had also made the same claim during her recent press conference, where she had mentioned that she was getting blackmail calls and ransom demands.
"Ranjitha who denied of having any communication with Nithyananda soon after the scam, just repeated whatever the swami had confessed," said an officer adding that even Ranjitha never mentioned about any blackmails to us, when she has been questioned.
Brushing aside her claims, the source said that the duo were very much in touch with each other. "Even Nithyananda has confessed to us that he was in regular contact with Ranjitha before and after the scandal," he said.
"We are not working on this angle right now," said the official. "Other agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate and IT department could take up the investigations about the money exchange. "There are possibilities that many more skeletons will tumble," he added.
Chiru's 150th Movie Postponed?
It is known news that megastar Chiranjeevi announced about his 150th film to start in February and it was also added that this would be produced by his son Ramcharan Tej. But given the circumstances in the state if Chiru dons the greasepaint to his face, the public will condemn him and get annoyed. Whatever little prestige Chiru has got will be gone forever.
Now, the news is that his 150th film has been postponed indefinitely due to that. Apparently, Chiru had registered the title ‘Adhinayakudu’ and finalised the story and script. It is heard that recently he also commenced few music sittings. The buzz is that he spent nearly Rs50- 60 lakhs and trimmed his body and has been practicing dance in a big way.
Honestly, though Chiru has been in politics since a while, his heart has been on cinema and it is heard that the groundwork for his 150th film also happened at the PRP office only. But the fear that starting the film would mean doom to his party so now, sources reveal that he would be working on the script and story for a while and will spend time by working on the songs. However, the sources also say that Chiru would come on and off in front of the media and will speak about politics as well.
