Murugha Mutt seer, accused in POCSO case, stopped in Haveri district, returns to C’durga

HAVERI/CHITRADURGA: The head of the Murugha Mutt at Chitradurga, Dr Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru, who has been accused of sexually assaulting high school girls, was on Monday stopped at Bankapura town and asked to return to Chitradurga.

Upon his return to the Murugha Mutt, Shivamurthy Murugha Sharana addressed the crowd gathered at the mutt and said this was a time of crisis and he was prepared to face it. “Devotees need not panic over these developments. These problems had been there in the mutt over the last 15 years. But now they have become public,” he added.

The seer arrives at the balcony to address devotees.

He also said, “We respect law of the land and we will extend complete cooperation to police in this regard. There is no question of escaping from it. People need not pay heed to such rumours. We will cooperate with the police in the probe. ” He also said that the was confident of coming out clean and thanked the devotees for standing by his side in difficult times.

On Saturday, the Nazarbad police in Mysuru had booked the seer under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 for allegedly sexually abusing high school girls. The seer was booked based on a complaint by the Child Development and Protection Officer.

The seer addressing devotees gathered at the mutt.

The FIR had named four people, including a warden of a hostel run by the mutt. As per the complaint, the pontiff used to sexually abuse high school girls who were residing in a hostel run by the mutt.

Two of the students had escaped from the hostel and arrived in Bengaluru. From there, they headed to Mysuru where an autorickshaw driver took them to Odanadi Seva Samsthe, an NGO, where the girls narrated their ordeal during a counselling session on Friday night.

The NGO then approached the authorities who filed an FIR based on the complaint by the girls.

In his defence, the pontiff has termed the case a “big conspiracy” against him and added that the truth will be revealed soon. He further said that this was the handiwork of his adversaries who resort to blackmail to gain power.