Pontiff threatened ashram hostel girls into submission: Survivor
The Chitradurga-based Murugha Math seer Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru, booked for allegedly sexually assaulting girls in his ashram hostel, used to threaten them that they must follow his instructions for he said he has contacts in the administration and the police.
The Chitradurga-based Murugha Math seer Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru, booked for allegedly sexually assaulting girls in his ashram hostel, used to threaten them that they must follow his instructions for he said he has contacts in the administration and the police. This statement to the police came from a survivor and is now a part of the charge sheet filed in the court against the 64-year-old pontiff.
Based on the complaint, Sharanaru was arrested on September 1 and has been in judicial custody. (File photo)
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It was also reported that a girl was murdered who went out to lodge a police complaint. According to the survivor, she landed in the ashram after losing her parents; she has only a brother.
She said she lived with 150 girls in the hostel the warden of which was Rashmi, the go-between the girls and the seer. According to the complainant, the warden used to send those girls whose names he would write on a slip. The survivor said the seer stripped her and after getting drunk, raped her.
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She said she kept begging him to spare her as she came from a poor family. She told police in her statement that other girls too narrated the same story that the seer sexually harassed them. The survivor specifically mentioned a case in which a girl went out to lodge a complaint.
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She said she kept begging him to spare her as she came from a poor family. She told police in her statement that other girls too narrated the same story that the seer sexually harassed them. The survivor specifically mentioned a case in which a girl went out to lodge a complaint.
The pontiff and others were alarmed and so caught her, raped her and murdered her. The survivor said she, along with her friend, escaped, reached Bengaluru, approached a police station and from there they were referred to a person who then took the girls to ‘Odanadi Samstha’ in Mysuru.
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When they fled from the ashram, fear gripped her as she recalled that Sharanaru had once threatened her saying, “I know the CM and the police officers." The Mysuru-based non-government organisation helped the girls lodge a police complaint under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Based on the complaint, Sharanaru was arrested on September 1 and is in judicial custody.
Yamini CS is a Senior Content Producer at Hindustan Times with nearly six years of experience in digital journalism. She is part of the India News desk, where she works on a wide range of stories cutting across civic issues, city-based developments, politics, governance, public policy, breaking news, trending topics, and international affairs that have an impact on India. Her role involves tracking fast-moving developments, verifying information from official and on-ground sources, and presenting news in a clear, accessible format for a digital-first audience. A significant part of her work includes handling live blogs during major news events, such as elections, court verdicts, political developments, civic disruptions, protests, weather-related alerts, and unfolding national or international incidents. Through live coverage, she focuses on timely updates to help readers follow complex stories as they evolve. Before moving to the broader India News desk, Yamini was associated with the Bengaluru desk at Hindustan Times, where she extensively covered urban governance, infrastructure, traffic and transport issues, weather events, public grievances, and civic administration in the city. This experience strengthened her grounding in city reporting and sharpened her focus on citizen-centric journalism. She began her career as a correspondent with Reuters after completing a postgraduate diploma in journalism from the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media. Her early training instilled a strong emphasis on accuracy, sourcing, and news ethics, which continue to shape her reporting style. Outside of work, Yamini enjoys reading across genres, listening to music, and spending time with her family, which help her maintain balance in a fast-paced newsroom environment.
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