JOIN USA travel agent who was held with 32 passports, including those of Swami Nithyananda and a Tamil actress, was let off on Wednesday after he told police that he had taken the passports to get visa clearance from the Chinese Embassy for the godman and his followers’ Kailash Mansarovar Yatra.
Custom officials on Tuesday detained travel agent Nitin Kaushik when he returned from Kathmandu, carrying 32 passports in his bag.
The officials grew suspicious after they found passports of Swami Nithyananda and a Tamil actress with whom the godman was reportedly found to be in a compromising position in a CD circulated in 2010.
After questioning, they handed over Kaushik to Delhi Police for investigation. Kaushik told police he was an authorised travel agent and had come to India to get visa clearance for his 32 clients from the Chinese Embassy in Delhi.
He said his clients are in Nepal and only identity proof was enough to visit that country. But for visiting Kailash Mansarovar, his clients needed a clearance letter from China. When his clients got the letter, he came to Delhi for visa approval.
After verifying the facts, Kaushik was let off, said a senior police officer.
Police said Swami Nithyananda and his followers were in Nepal and would visit Kailash Mansarovar from August 15.
Nithyananda has been allowed by the High Court to retain his passport, and there was nothing suspicious about it, police said.
Nithyananda was held in 2010 after the controversial video footage. Later, he was released on bail. He was again jailed in 2012 for assaulting a mediaperson. He was also accused of rape, sexual harassment and land encroachment.