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Charge sheet filed in first sexual assault case against Karnataka seer
Sharanaru is currently in Chitradurga jail since he was arrested in a sexual assault case under the Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act on September 1.
Chitradurga police have filed a charge sheet against three people, including Sri Jagadguru Murugharajendra (SJM) mutt erstwhile pontiff Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanu, in connection with the first case of sexual assault.
Police are yet to disclose the details and said that they submitted the victim’s accounts and other related evidence in the case.
Sharanaru is currently in Chitradurga jail since he was arrested in a sexual assault case under the Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act on September 1.
The two girls, aged 16 and 15, on August 25 told the child welfare committee members that they were sexually assaulted between January 1, 2019, and June 6, 2022 by Sharanaru. The girls were students of a school run by the mutt in Chitradurga and lived in a hostel there. They left the mutt hostel in July this year.
The same day, the police registered an FIR against the seer, charging him with rape under provisions of the Pocso Act.
But despite growing outrage and the seriousness of the charges, for seven days, the police didn’t move to interrogate the seer or take him into custody.
Several politicians, including former chief minister BS Yediyurappa and a section of the state cabinet, publicly backed him and said the charges were linked to a power tussle within the monastery.
After intense public pressure and speculation that the government was dragging its feet for political reasons, the seer was finally arrested late September 1 after his anticipatory bail was deferred by a local court.
Apart from this, on October 14, a second FIR was filed against Sharanaru, alleging child sexual abuse. This is the second case filed against the seer, under the Pocso for sexually assaulting minor girls living in the hostel run by the ashram. The first case was registered on August 25.
According to the police, two minors (aged 12 and 14 years) were studying in the Sri Jagadguru Murugha (SJM) educational institutions run by the mutt. The complaint was lodged by the parents of the two girls, who were working with the mutt, said police.
As per the complaint, the girls were studying in SJM institution and stayed in the Akka Mahadevi hostel of the mutt. During this time, Sharanaru allegedly sexually assaulted the girls who were asked to “serve the seer”.
This case is under investigation.
