Karnataka Police have arrested an influential Hindu religious leader and a seer for allegedly raping 2 minor girls. He was accused of assaulting the girls during his seminary.
The Karnataka seer, Shivamurthy got arrested on September 1 late at night, around six days after the complaint was filed against him. The accused has called this a conspiracy against him and has denied all the allegations.
Sharanaru was produced before the court at 2:45 on Friday where he was remanded to 14-day judicial custody.
He has been charged under the POCSO (Protection of Child from Sexual Offences) Act.
A case was filed against him on 26th August 2022, when both the girls approached an NGO that works for human trafficking in Mysore and alleged that Sharanaru had abused them for years. The girls revealed that he used to call them in his chambers and then sexually assault them.
The allegations against Shivamurthy sparked protests in Karnataka’s Chitradurga as the protestors called for the immediate arrest of the religious leader. As one of the victims was a Dalit, various Dalit organizations also demonstrated against him.
Many have also come up in the support of the Hindu leader and said that he is being falsely put into this case.
Hostel Warden, who is also accused in the case was detained by the police on Wednesday for the investigation of the case.
Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru applied for anticipatory bail on Thursday with a sessions court adjourning the hearing on Friday.