Karnataka seer, who got out on bail last week, arrested again in 2nd POCSO case

Shivamurthy Sharanaru was arrested hours after a court issued a non-bailable warrant against him.

Chitradurga Murugharajendra Bruhan Mutt's former pontiff Shivamurthy Sharanaru, who was released from jail on November 17 after spending 14 months in prison in a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act case, was arrested again on Monday.

A case against Shivamurthy Sharanaru was registered on August 26, 2022, at Nazarabad police station in Mysuru. (File)

Sharanaru was arrested hours after a court issued a non-bailable warrant in the second POCSO Act case against him.

According to PTI, the Second Additional Sessions Judge B K Komala in Chitradurga issued the non-bailable warrant and ordered the police to produce Shivamurthy Sharana before her by Tuesday.

The seer was booked on August 26, 2022, at Nazarabad police station in Mysuru for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor students under the POCSO Act and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The case was subsequently transferred to Chitradurga rural police station, leading to his arrest on September 1.

After his release last week, the seer refrained from commenting on the case, stating, “I will not talk about this case for now.” He reiterated the advice from his legal counsel to remain silent on the matter.

The court’s conditions for his bail include refraining from visiting Chitradurga “until the trial concludes, providing surety, attending court proceedings through video conference, submitting a bond surety of ₹2 lakh, surrendering the passport to the court, and refraining from threatening witnesses or engaging in repeated offences”.

A Mysuru-based NGO that filed the complaint against the pontiff had expressed disappointment over the seer’s bail saying his release would “impact” the survivors.

“Muruga Shree’s bail was granted due to the investigating officers’ mistakes. Only if a high-level investigation agency had been involved, the release would not have occurred so easily," KV Stanley, convener of Odanadi Seva Samsthe had said.