On 20th November (Monday), a Lingayat seer and the pontiff of the Chitradurga Murugharajendra Bruhan Mutt Shivamurthy Sharanaru was re-arrested from Davangere, Karnataka. The arrest took place hours after a Court had issued a non-bailable warrant in the second Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act case pending against him.
The development comes four days after he had secured conditional bail from the Karnataka High Court in one of the two POCSO cases.
Regarding his re-arrest, Chitradurga SP said, “On November 16, the High Court granted conditional bail to him in the first POCSO case. He was also released on this bail. But as he was released before getting bail in the second POCSO case, he was re-arrested today within 4 days of getting bail.”
#WATCH | Karnataka | Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru, the pontiff of Murugharajendra Bruhanmutt, Chitradurga was re-arrested by Police today, four days after being released from jail after bail in a POCSO case.
— ANI (@ANI) November 20, 2023
SP Chitradurga says, "On November 16, the High Court granted… pic.twitter.com/JFrHYAQgYx
Notably, the Second Additional Sessions Judge B K Komala in Chitradurga had issued the non-bailable warrant ordering the police to produce Shivamurthy Sharana before her by Tuesday (21st November).
Sharana had been in custody since 1st September 2022. However, on 8th November, the Karnataka High Court granted him conditional bail in the first of the two POCSO cases against him. Afterward, on 16th November, he was released from jail. Since his release, he was staying at the Virakta Math in Davangere, from where the Chitradurga police arrested him.
While granting him bail in one of the two POCSO cases against him, the Karnataka High Court had imposed several conditions on him. The court restricted him from entering the Chitradurga district till the completion of the investigation in the cases. He was released on bail upon furnishing a personal bond of Rs two lakh and providing two sureties of equal amounts. Additionally, he received a warning not to tamper with evidence or attempt to influence the witnesses.
The case details
Shivamurthy Sharanaru who heads the Murugarajendra Vidyapeetha Mutt has been an accused in two separate POCSO cases.
The first complaint against him and four others was filed by the ‘Odanadi Seva Samsthe’, an NGO, in Mysuru. The complaint alleged that the accused sexually harassed minor students studying in the mutt’s school and staying in its hostel in Chitradurga. The case was registered by Nazarabad police in Mysuru under POCSO and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Later it was transferred to the Chitradurga Rural police station.
The second POCSO case against him was registered by the mother of two minor girls. She alleged that her two daughters and two other minor girls were sexually assaulted by the seer while they were residing in the hostel in 2019 and 2022.
The complaint further asserted the involvement of the junior seer Basavaditya, along with others such as Paramashivaiah, Gangadhar, Mahalinga, and Karibasappa. However, Paramashivaiah’s name was dropped from the charge sheet in the second case.
Following the complaints, he was taken into custody on 1st September 2022 and remained under judicial custody in Chitradurga Jail till he secured a conditional bail from Karnataka High Court. However, four days after that, he was re-arrested today.
Rahul Gandhi took Linga Deeksha from Chitradurga’s Shivamurthy Sharanaru
It is notable that, in Chitradurga, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi got Linga Deeksha from Murugha Rajendra Mutt’s seer Sri Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru. People from the Lingayat community usually execute this process while going to wear a crystalline Ishtalinga.
During his visit to the Murugha Math, Rahul Gandhi said that he wanted to know more about Ishtalinga and Shivayoga. However, instead of making any effort to learn himself, he suggested that Math should send a private tutor to him to teach him about the matter.
Back then, Rahul Gandhi had said, “I’ve been following & reading a little about Basavanna ji for some time now. So, it’s a real honour for me to be here. I’d make a request, if you can send me somebody who can teach me a little more in detail about Ishtalinga & Shivayoga, I’d probably benefit from it.”
