BENGALURU: The High Court of Karnataka on Wednesday granted conditional bail to Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru, the chief pontiff of Murugha Math in Chiradurga, in connection with the case of alleged sexual harassment of minor girls in the math hostel.
The high court granted bail with certain conditions, including that the seer cannot enter Chitradurga district. The bench of Justice Srinivas Harish Kumar passed the order after hearing the bail plea filed by the seer against a surety bond of Rs 2 lakh.
As per the order, the chief pontiff cannot be released from jail, though he was granted bail, as two rape cases have been registered against him and the investigation is still under way. Also, a bail application in another case is pending before the court.
The chief pontiff was arrested under the POCSO Act by the Chitradurga police on September 1 last year for the alleged sexual assault of two minor girls. According to the victims, they were sexually abused by the seer for about two years. (ANI)