Kannada activists staged demonstrations outside the Dhyanapeetam at Bidadi near Bangalore on Friday, urging the government and the Ramanagaram district administration to extern self-styled godman Nithyananda, who was allegedly embroiled in a sex scandal.
‘Avatar Day’, or Nithyananda’s 37th birthday was held at the Dhyanapeetam on Friday.
Several brahmacharis and brahmacharinis, including multilingual actress Ranjitha, were given ‘sanyasa deeksha’ during the celebrations.
Sources at the Dhyanapeetam said that several rituals were held. Members of the Karnataka Navanirman Vedike and Kasturi Karnataka Janapara Vedike staged demonstrations outside the Dhyanapeetam. They urged the State to take over the administration of the Dhyanapeetam.
Tension prevailed for a while when agitating activists attempted to enter the Dhyanapeetam. They removed banners and posters installed outside the Dhyanapeetam and burnt effigies of Nithyananda.