Crime Today News
Bolivia on Tuesday said that it has deported 20 members of Kailasa, a fictional country founded by preacher Nithyananda, for allegedly attempting to seize land belonging to the indigenous community.
“The mandatory departure of the people belonging to this group has been made effective,” Bolivia’s Immigration Director Katherine Calderón said during a press conference. “They are no longer in our national territory.”
The action was taken over the weekend, Calderón added.
Nithyananda, who has been accused of rape in India, claimed to have set up a country called the United States of Kailasa, which is purported to be an island off the coast of Ecuador.
“This sect has arrived in our country and has attempted to violate the good faith of our indigenous population and also their rights, trying to deceive them into using their native lands,” Calderón said.
The expulsion came after investigative reporting by Bolivian newspaper El Deber on March 16 revealed that three indigenous groups – the Baure, the Cayubaba and Esse Ejja – had signed lease agreements with Kailasa for nearly 4.8 lakh hectares of public land between September and November.
According to the agreements, an annual rent would be paid in exchange for the use of the land for “a thousand years”.
After the allegations came to light, another news outlet, La República, quoted the Bolivian foreign ministry as saying that Kailasa did not have international recognition.
Although indigenous communities can manage their lands, relations with other countries were the exclusive responsibility of the national government, the ministry added.
“The government has never endorsed, nor will it ever endorse, these types of hidden contracts,” La República quoted Yamil Flores, the minister of rural development and lands, as saying.
An investigation was being carried out to look into the contracts signed between indigenous leaders and the representatives of the fictional country, Flores said, adding that action was being taken to punish these crimes.
On Tuesday, Calderón said that three of those expelled were found in the municipality of Exaltación and taken to Viru Viru Airport in Santa Cruz to be deported.
The remaining 17 persons were found in Santa Cruz and notified of their expulsion from the country, she added.
“The people found in the various operations in both cities are no longer in our territory,” Calderón said. “They have been issued final mandatory departure orders, which prevents them from re-entering Bolivia.”
Nithyananda had fled India after he was accused of rape and of illegally confining children in his ashram. In 2019, India had cancelled Nithyananda’s passport and also rejected his application for a fresh one. He is accused of abducting children and using them to raise money for his ashram.
In December 2023, an official from Paraguay resigned from his position after he realised that he had signed a cooperation memorandum with Kailasa.
Arnaldo Chamorro, the chief of staff at Paraguay’s agriculture ministry, told reporters that he was deceived by persons who claimed to be officials from the United States of Kailasa, which they said was a country located on a South American island.
In January 2023, Newark city in the United States was also duped into signing an agreement with the fictional country.
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