Rape-accused Lingayat seer Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru allegedly raped minors and now booked after a complaint was filed on their behalf.
Karnataka Police has issued a lookout notice against Lingayat seer Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru. The seer was booked under the POCSO Act for allegedly sexually assaulting the minors. According to the complaint, two girls, aged 15 and 16, studying at the school run by the mutt, were sexually abused for over three-and-a-half years by the seer.
The victims finally escaped from the hostel on July 24 and they were found at Cottonpet Police Station on July 25. On August 26, an FIR was registered at Nazarbad Police Station in Mysore against the Lingayat seer.
However, the seer has claimed that the allegations were part of a long-drawn conspiracy against him, indicated an inside job, and vowed to come out clean in the case. Political parties have remained silent on the issue, and the BJP claims he is innocent.
The seer, Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru, is the chief pontiff of a prominent Lingayat mutt in Karnataka. The Karnataka Police has issued a lookout notice against Lingayat seer Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru, accused in an alleged sexual assault case involving minors. The notice was issued as a precautionary measure.
A lookout notice or circular (LOC) is issued to make sure that an individual who is absconding or wanted by law enforcement agencies is not able to leave the country. The notice against the seer has been issued to all immigration checkpoints such as international airports and seaports.
Amid protests demanding the seer’s arrest, the Karnataka Police detained the chief warden of the school hostel, run by the mutt, in the sexual assault case on Thursday. This is the first penal action by the police in the case.
The case was registered against Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru by the Mysuru city police after a complaint was filed on behalf of two minors. He has been booked under sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Murugha mutt advisory committee member NB Vishwanath had earlier alleged that the mutt’s administrative officer, SK Basavarajan, a former MLA, was behind the conspiracy. A case of sexual harassment and kidnapping was also registered against Basavarajan in Chitradurga on a complaint by a woman, who is said to be a staff at the Lingayat seminary.
The case has become complicated because one of the girls is a Dalit, which raises the sensitive issue of persistent attacks on the Dalit caste. Police action has been weak, saying they are waiting for the judiciary, and arrests have not been made, while the perpetrator is absconding.