lingayat: Parties tread carefully as lingayat seer faces Pocso case in poll-bound Karnataka

Political parties in Karnataka are treading carefully on the issue of rape charges against Murugha Mutt seer Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru, the head of a prominent Lingayat mutt in Chitradurga. A case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, 2012, has been filed against the seer and hostel warden Shivamurthy Murugha, Mutt follower Akkamahadevi Rashmi, Mutt office bearer Parashivaiah Basavaditya and lawyer Gangadharaiah, after two girl students complained to Mysuru-based NGO Odanadi Seva Samsthe.

The FIR filed based on the NGO’s complaint in Mysuru’s Nazarbad police station alleged the girls were sexually abused for over two years. Protesters are demanding ‘strict action against the seer’. They said though more than two days have passed since the complaint was registered, there has been no arrest yet.

The seer addressed devotees and the media at Chitradurga on Monday and alleged the charge was the result of a ‘conspiracy in the mutt for 15 years’. He said he would come clean in the case, and told his followers that he would not run away from the investigation.

The BJP central leadership, meanwhile, has cautioned the state unit to not make any statement that could hurt the party’s ‘electoral hold’ over Lingayats and other communities. Lingayats make up around 17% of the state population and have played a pivotal role in the state polls. “Law will take its own course. I am confident the investigation will bring out the truth,” BJP general secretary CT Ravi, who is in charge of the state, told ET.

In the past, the seer has hosted Congress’ Rahul Gandhi and influential RSS-BJP leaders. BJP leader BS Yediyurappa has backed the seer, saying that the charges were false, but its Rajya Sabha MP Lahar Singh Siroya said the allegations were shocking and urged political parties to ‘rise above political differences’ and ensure an impartial probe into charges.

“The society is watching us. People’s confidence in the government and the justice delivery system depends on our actions. Even if there is an iota of doubt, the government should consider handing over the probe to a neighbouring state,” Siroya told ET.

While Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar refused to comment, JDS’s HD Kumaraswamy said that he was not surprised by the case stating that the matter was ‘not new’ and should have been addressed earlier.