The II Additional District and Sessions Court of Chitradurga granted bail to rape accused Shivamurthy Muruga Sharanaru on Monday, 7 October. He was promptly released from the Chitradurga prison. The seer of Murugha Math was booked under the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for allegedly sexually abusing at least six girls studying in his institution.

Shivamurthy Muruga Sharanaru, the chief pontiff of the Lingayat mutt, was arrested in 2022 after several allegations of female students studying at the Matha-run institution being sexually abused was reported.

The seer has been named as the prime accused in at least three separate FIRs following complaints of the survivors who were aided by Mysuru-based NGO Odanadi.

The first complaint was filed in August 2022 on behalf of two survivors aged 15 and 16, leading to his arrest. Along with him, Matha’s hostel warden Shivamurthy, junior pontiff Basavadithya, Matha secretary Paramashivaiah, and advocate Gangadharaiah were arrested.

Two months later a second FIR was registered against him following a complaint by a single mother employed at the Matha. The complainant accused seer Shivamurthy Muruga Sharanaru of sexually abusing four girls, including two of her daughters, residing in the Matha-run hostel. He was booked under the POCSO Act, Juvenile Justice Act, and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including rape.

Following these cases, another case was filed under the Juvenile Justice Act on 18 October 2022, as the Matha failed to disclose the presence of minors on its premises. The FIR was based on the complaint of a Child Welfare Committee (CWC) member. The complainant alleged that the Matha did not reveal about two minor girls — aged 16 and four — living on its premises.

Preliminary charge sheets spanning 347 pages each were filed by the police on 27 October 2022, detailing accusations against Shivamurthy Sharanaru and other Matha administration members in the initial two cases.