Swami Nityananda, the self-styled god-man who had disappeared from his ashram in Bidadi has been accused of child abuse and torture. A Canadian woman named Sarah Landry made a video saying that she'd fallen into this trap after spending years promoting it as good. Police have launched a massive manhunt for him but he's now believed to be out of the country.
Newark officials rescinded a sister city agreement with the United States of Kailasa after finding out it wasn’t actually a real place. Reporter Sushmita Pathak explains how a fugitive cult leader from India created a fake nation that conned everyday people, government officials, and the UN.
This episode was produced by Haleema Shah, edited by Matt Collette, fact-checked by Amina Al-Sadi and Amanda Lewellyn, engineered by Paul Robert Mounsey, and hosted by Noel King.
Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained
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