Bolivia on Tuesday said that it has 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 by Bolivian newspaper El Deber on March 16 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...