Ramanagara:
Controversial self-styled godman Swami Nityananda on Saturday walked free after spending 53 days in jail on rape and other criminal charges, a day after Karnataka High Court granted him bail.
Nityananda and his close aide Gopala Reddy alias Bhakta Nityananda, who also had been enlarged on bail, were released after they complied with conditions slapped for their release by the High Court on Friday.
Soon after Nityananda and Reddy came out of Ramanagara jail, they were taken in a car to their Ashram at Bidadi.
Counsels for Nityananda submitted the required documents before District Magistrate Pushpavathi at her residence as Saturday being a government holiday on account of second Saturday.
While granting bail, Justice Subhash B Adi had observed that Nityananda had fallen short of his image as a spiritual head and restrained him from conducting spiritual preaching classes except yoga and meditation.
He was also restrained from leaving jurisdiction of police without informing and asked to appear before the jurisdictional police station once in 15 days.
While Nityananda furnished a personal bond of Rs one lakh and two sureties of the like sum, Reddy submitted Rs 50,000 surety for his release.
Nityananda was arrested by CID from a place in Solan taluk in Himachal Pradesh on April 21.
Nityananda eluded police after a private TV channel in Chennai telecast purported video footage of him in a compromising position with a Tamil actress in March.
Tamil Nadu Police had registered cases including rape against him before they transferred them to their counterparts in Karnataka which handed over the probe to CID.
Police had sent the CD to Central Forensic Science Laboratory Hyderabad for analysis where it was found to be authentic.