The mother of two girls allegedly raped by Lingayat seer Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru has been arrested by the Chitradurga rural police on charges of conspiring to frame the former pontiff of the Jagadguru Murugarajendra Vidyapeetha Mutt in fake cases, police officials said.
The woman had filed a complaint under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, 2012, against the seer on October 13, accusing him of raping her two daughters for two years.
According to Chitradurga Superintendent of police (SP) K Parashuram, the woman who has been arrested was a former cook at the mutt. The SP said she was arrested on charges of conspiring with the mutt’s high school teacher Basavarajendra and Mysuru-based NGO Odanadi to frame Sharanaru in the rape case. The three are also accused of inciting the minor girls to make false allegations against the mutt.
The arrests of the woman and Basavarajendra came last week. Police had registered a case against the two and the NGO based on an audio clip that surfaced on social media — purportedly of a phone conversation where the woman was being provoked to file the case against Sharanaru.
HT cannot verify the veracity of the audio clip independently.
{{/usCountry}}HT cannot verify the veracity of the audio clip independently.
{{/usCountry}}“We have arrested mutt high school teacher Basavarajendra and the cook. The case was registered based on audio and other evidence,” Parashuram told HT on Saturday.
The investigation is underway, police said, adding that a charge sheet will be submitted only if the accused committed the offence.
Refuting the conspiracy case filed against Odanadi, NGO director KV Stanley said on Sunday that such actions would demoralise the complainants. Stanley said Odanadi is working for the welfare of poor victims since decades and by booking a case against them, the police are trying to suppress the voice of the victims.
“Mutt authorities are well aware that Sharanaru could not get bail in a Pocso case, and are trying to get benefit of doubt for bail,” he added.
He futher said: “The seer sexually harassed many other victims as well, and if the police book a case against the complainant, the victims will be afraid to come forward in the future.”
He said Odanadi would launch an initiative next week to garner support for the victim girls.
Meanwhile, the four girl complainants wrote to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday seeking support for the legal battle against the seer.