Chief pontiff of Murugha Math Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru was arrested for alleged sexual abuse of minor girls and sent to 14-day judicial custody, police said.
The pontiff of one of the most prominent and influential Lingayat seminaries in the state was questioned at an undisclosed location by Deputy Superintendent of Police Anil Kumar. He was later taken to the district hospital for a medical checkup, and subsequently, produced before the first additional district and sessions judge at her residence.
The judge remanded the seer to 14 days' judicial custody and he was sent to the district prison, Chitradurga Superintendent Of Police Parasuram said.
The Mysuru city police had filed an FIR against the seer under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and certain sections of the Indian Penal Code for the alleged sexual abuse. The FIR was registered against a total of five peoplebased on the complaint by an officer of the District Child Protection Unit.
Two girls had approached a non-governmental organisation in Mysuru and narrated the alleged abuse, following which it approached the authorities and the case was registered by the police. The seer was booked under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act as well, as one of the victims belongs to the SC community.
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