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Facing threats: NGO that helped file Karnataka seer POCSO case
The complaint letter was sent to police two days after Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru, the pontiff of Jagadguru Murugarajendra Vidyapeetha Mutt in Chitradurga, was arrested on Thursday night following a case registered under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and ST/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against him for allegedly sexually harassing two minor girls studying in the high school.
The Mysuru-based non-government organisation, which helped two minor girls in getting a sexual abuse case registered against the head seer of an influential Lingayat mutt in Karnataka’s Chitradurga district, has requested for police protection for its members alleging threat from pontiff’s followers.
In its complaint to the police on September 3, NGO Odanadi Seva Samsthe claimed its members received death threats from followers of the seer.
The complaint letter was sent to police two days after Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru, the pontiff of Jagadguru Murugarajendra Vidyapeetha Mutt in Chitradurga, was arrested on Thursday night following a case registered under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and ST/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against him for allegedly sexually harassing two minor girls studying in the high school.
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“Murugha Shri’s followers and pro-mutt well-wishers have been making threats to life through calls to our organisation’s Stanley KV and ML Parashuram,” said the complaint letter. “We are requesting individual protection as well as security for their families.”
The NGO after counselling the two girls, aged 16 and 15, took them to the Child Welfare Committee on August 26. They reportedly told the committee members that they were sexually assaulted between January 1, 2019, and June 6, 2022. The girls were students of a school run by the mutt in Chitradurga and lived in a hostel there.
Based on their complaint, an FIR was registered with Mysuru police, which was later transferred to Chitradurga. HT has accessed a copy of the FIR. The girls recorded their statement before a judicial magistrate under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) on August 29.
“The issue of the children is important and this threat letter should not become a diversion. We have written to the police after receiving threat calls,” Parashuram from the NGO told HT. “Whenever we complain against anybody, we get such calls. It comes in a casual manner — the same way you (media) also get it when you report some sensitive news.”
He further said: “The police have not provided any protection as yet but people (our well-wishers) have gathered at our premises.”
Meanwhile, the seer has been subjected to potency and DNA tests, as reported by PTI quoting officials in the medical department.
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“He underwent the potency test on Saturday. We also took samples of his blood and hair for DNA test,” a medical officer in Chitradurga was quoted as saying by the news agency.
The officer refused to disclose the outcome saying that such things cannot be shared with media but will be presented to the court, which is hearing the case.
Jagadguru Murugarajendra Vidyapeetha Mutt is among the most influential religious centres for the politically influential Lingayat community, believed to be the single largest caste group in Karnataka.
The mutt enjoys significant political patronage. Last week, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former chief minister BS Yediyurappa, who belongs to the Lingayat community, defended the seer, claiming charges against him as “false”.
On Sunday, the Chitradurga police took the seer back to the mutt to collect his samples and other evidence.
