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BANGALORE: He has broken his silence for the fist time after the controversial tapes were aired last March. Making a startling revelation, Swami Nityananda said he was blackmailed by two persons in power for Rs 100 crore, before the tapes allegedly involving him and actress Ranjita were aired on television.

However, the head of the Dhayanapeetam Ashram refused to name the blackmailers saying he still faces threat from them.

"I maintained silence since CID was investigating the case. I have revealed the two names to CID officials, but it refused to initiate any action. The only forum we have decided to open up about is the court," he said.

Ridiculing the CID case against him, Nityananda said it was like slapping a Rs 200-theft case against either the president or the prime minister of a country. "I command a disciple group of over one crore and I have been charged with rape? The CID says I have raped a woman follower for four years. If it was so, why would the victim enter my room for the next four years?" he asked.

Explaining the turn of events since the tapes were aired, Nityananda said police did not initiate action against those who burnt and damaged the ashram properties in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. "I am convinced that no Kannada-speaking people were involved in it. However, police went on filing cases against ashram inmates and me while those who physically attacked were supported," he said.

On the CID investigation, he charged there was a systematic attack on him through distorting facts. He added that in the controversial non-disclosure treaty where there was mention of tantric sex, the documents were prepared by overzealous advocates in the US where some religious organizations there tried to term the worship of the `Lingam' as vulgar. "I had not seen those documents till they were published in the media. However, when we compared the original copy with that published in the media, we found many new clauses," he claimed.

Terming the video morphed, Nityananda said he had never indulged in any such acts. "Though the forensic laboratory gave an opinion that it was original, the facts are being ascertained in a lab in the US. Besides, the CID used the tapes to malign the ashram and me. They were not part of the chargesheet filed by CID," he said.

Nityananda said his disciples had started a blood signature campaign all over the world.