CHITRADURGA: A lot of twists and turns have been unveiled in the 155 page judgement delivered by Second Additional District and Sessions judge Gangadhara Hadapad, who acquitted Murugha Mutt head Swamy Dr Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru in the first POCSO case filed against him.
In the verdict declared on November 26, the court opined that the pieces of evidence given by the victims before the doctors and the magistrate during the investigation are contradictory.
The court has found that there was a property dispute between Swamy Sharanaru and one Basavarajan for the last 15 years, which weakened the case. The verdict also mentions that there is no evidence of sexual assault in the medical report.
The court said the case registered against Murugha Sharan is a conspiracy. “The statements given by the victims do not match each other, even though former MLA and manager of the mutt SK Basavarajan has stated that he has given evidence and photos to the SP regarding the incident, but the same has not been brought before the court during the trial,” the judgment read.
The judge has also taken note of four children studying in the mutt, who were called as witnesses, not supporting the allegations made by the alleged victims. The court objected to Basavarajan’s claim that the victim was assaulted and thrown out of the mutt, but the police did not collect any footage despite there being CCTV coverage.
Raising the conspiracy theory, Swamy Sharanaru’s advocate CV Nagesh argued that the victim went to Cottonpet police station from Majestic, instead of approaching the Upparpete police.
The victim went to Cottonpet police station because a staff member named Dhananjaya, who was previously attached to Chitradurga Town police station, worked there.
At that time, Dhananjay had a close association with Basavarajan, Soubhagya and Guru. It was Guru, a close associate of Basavarajan, who paid the victim’s auto fare in Bangalore.
Without any documentary evidence, Cottonpet police gave the custody of the children to Basavarajan, Nagesh told the court. The victims were not given any medical aid, and this raises doubts, he said.
The judgment states that the testimony of the victims is unreliable for convicting the three accused – Swamy Sharanaru, warden Rashmi and Paramashivayya, who was previously the secretary of the Math – in the POCSO case. The judge announced the verdict after completing the hearing, arguments and defense of the victims, witnesses and the accused in the case which lasted for three years.
The verdict also mentions that the victims were not entitled to compensation. There is no evidence in the medical examination report that the victims were sexually abused. The report completely ruled out the possibility of violence, said the court.
It was also alleged that there is a backdoor entry and stairs to reach the Pontiff’s private room at the matt, but none of them were mentioned in the charge sheet.