Six days after the case of alleged sexual harassment of two minor girls was filed under POCSO Act against him, the seer of Brihan Mutt in Chitradurga, Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru, was arrested in Chitradurga late on September 1.
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Superintendent of Police of Chitradurga K. Parashuram confirmed the development and said that the Chitradurga Police had arrested the seer in connection with the cases.
Pressure had been mounting on the police for his arrest as activists and several organisations had started questioning the delay in arresting the seer, who heads a prominent Lingayat mutt in the State, who wields considerable influence among the community. On September 1, after having beefed up the security around the Mutt, police officials entered the mutt premises after 10 p.m. and took the seer into custody.
Barring few hours on August 29 during which he was not seen in the mutt, the seer was at the mutt all the time, and had said that a “conspiracy” had been hatched against him and that he would come clean.
This is the first instance of the head of a prominent Lingayat mutt in Karnataka being arrested in connection with a case of sexual harassment of minor girls.