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Karnataka
Karnataka Murugha Math Seer Charged For Alleged Sexual Abuse, Hospitalised Hours After Arrest
|The chief pontiff of Murugha Math, Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru, who has been booked by the police for alleged sexual abuse of minor girls and sent to judicial custody, was shifted to the district hospital after complaints of chest pain.
The chief pontiff of Karnataka's Murugha Math, Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru, was booked by the police on Thursday (September 1) and sent into judicial custody for 14-days for alleged sexual abuse of minor girls on his hostel premises. After being kept at the Chitradurga hospital, the seer was shifted to the district hospital as he complained of chest pain and health complications.
Sharanaru was taken to the police station on Thursday evening, confirmed Alok Kumar, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP). He added that the huge Lingayat Math chief pontiff would be brought to the court of law, and medical tests and investigation would be carried out according to the procedure.
No political parties have made comments so far in the poll-bound state, treading carefully, reported The Print.
Seer Charged Under POCSO Act
The Karnataka police booked the seer under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) for alleged sexual abuse of two high school girls, and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act on Tuesday (August 30) as one of the survivors is a girl for Schedule Caste community.
Earlier in the day, the court adjourned the hearing of the anticipatory bail plea by Murugha Math chief pontiff to Friday, even as many advocates sought a probe under the high court's supervision and control. A group of advocates has also written to the Karnataka High Court's Registrar General, claiming that the case against the chief pontiff is not being treated fairly and reasonably.
FIR Filed Against 5 People
According to officials, the First Information Report (FIR) was filed against five people, including the warden of the seer's hostel. Two girls from the hostel reached out to an NGO in Mysuru and claimed alleged abuse. Then the NGO contacted the administration, and the police filed the case. The suspected case was shifted to the Chitradurga police station as the alleged crime occurred in the same area.
The development from Karnataka comes in the wake of an immense uproar against the Basavaraj Bommai-led government. His government is repeatedly charged with alleged corruption across real estate, infrastructure, health, and education sectors.