Six days after a First Information Report (FIR) under rape charges was filed against Dr Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru, the chief pontiff of the influential Lingayat math in Karnataka’s Chitradurga has finally been arrested. The police arrested the accused seer at around 10 pm on Thursday, September 1, and he was taken to the office of the Deputy Superintendent of Police. Two teenage girls who study in a residential school run by the math had escaped from there, approached an NGO in Mysuru and lodged a police complaint on August 26.
The survivors had recorded their statements in front of a judicial magistrate court on August 30, which is considered a key piece of evidence. According to sources, the girls — who are 15 and 16 years old — described their ordeal in the statement, and with them sticking to their allegations, it became untenable for the police to delay the arrest any further. The government had been reluctant to arrest the seer as the BJP feared that would upset the sentiments of the Lingayat community. While former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said that the complaint was false, others like the Home Minister had maintained that an internal tiff in the ashram led to the complaint. Not just the BJP, many politicians belonging to the Congress too have either supported the seer or kept quiet.
The two girls who stayed and studied at the math premises had approached the Mysuru police, alleging that Shivamurthy sexually assaulted them for years. He allegedly sexually assaulted one of them for 3.5 years, and the other for 1.5 years. Based on the complaint, the police registered a First Information Report naming Shivamurthy and four others, including staff of the math and a junior priest, in connection with the case. Shivamurthy was booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The police complaint was filed at the Nazarbad police station.
Many activists, women's groups, citizens initiatives etc had been protesting in various parts of the state demanding the seer's arrest. A large protest has been planned in Bengaluru Freedom park on September 2 by various Dalit groups. One of the survivors belongs to a Dalit community.
A few days ago, Shivamurthy addressed the media, saying that he is not running away and expressed confidence that he was going to be cleared of the charges. He addressed the media after he was allegedly stopped by the police in Karnataka’s Bankapura while on his way to Maharashtra. He later moved court seeking pre-arrest bail. However, the District and Sessions’ court in Chitradurga which was hearing the case on Thursday, adjourned the hearing for September 2.
Watch this week's episode of Dhanya Rajendran's show, where she explains the case against Shivamurthy: