Nityananda released from jail

12.06.10 Bangalore : Self-styled godman Swami Nityananda, arrested for rape and other criminal charges, was on Saturday released from prison on bail. He was granted conditional bail on Friday.

Swami Nityananda was arrested in April. He was found in Himachal Pradesh after a sex scandal erupted at his ashram near Bangalore. In March, local media aired a video that allegedly shows the swami with a Tamil actress.

He has since been charged with rape and unnatural sex. He was asked to provide a one-lakh bond, and to surrender his passport. He has also been forbidden from public discourses. He'll have to report to a local police station once every fortnight.

The controversy surrounding Nityananda includes the discovery that he allegedly asked female followers to sign a 'sex contract' as a preemptive move against legal action.

The document alerts signees to possible participations in activities that "involve nudity... close physical proximity and intimacy, verbal and written descriptions and audio sounds of a sexually oriented, and erotic nature."

Nityananda has resigned as the head of his ashram and the different trusts it controls.

Internationally Nityananda has two million followers.