BENGALURU: In more trouble for Muruga Mutt pontiff Dr Shivamurthy Muruga Sharanaru, a city court has issued a non-bailable warrant against him in connection with a cheating case registered in 2010. Meanwhile, the chief pontiff is sent to police custody till September 5 in a POCSO case. The Kengeri police had booked the seer and another person, identified as Anand Kumar, for cheating and criminal breach of trust based on a complaint filed by one, P S Prakash alias Panchi, a devotee of the mutt.
The complainant had alleged that the mutt has properties across the country and also a 7.18 acre land in Sulikere village of Kengeri hobli in Bengaluru south. As president of the mutt, Sharanaru allegedly sold the said land to Anand Kumar fraudulently.
The complainant accused the seer of selling the land to Kumar for 49 lakh while its market value was around `1 crore per acre, causing a loss to the tune of over Rs 7 crores to the mutt. The police had filed an FIR and submitted a charge sheet to the court. The 4th Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) court, which is hearing the case, issued a non-bailable warrant against the pontiff and Anand Kumar on Friday, adjourning the hearing till November 1.
The Lingayat pontiff of the influential Muruga Rajendra Mutt in Karnataka, Shivamurthy Muruga Sharanaru, was arrested late on Thursday after allegations of sexual abuse from schoolgirls. He was named in a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act after two teenage girls alleged that they were abused for years.
The chief pontiff who was brought to Chitradurga District Sessions Court was sent to police custody till September 5 in the case involving the alleged sexual abuse of two minor girls.
To ensure no govt interference: the home minister
Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra said the POCSO case involving the arrested Lingayat pontiff of the influential Muruga Rajendra Mutt in Karnataka, Shivamurthy Muruga Sharanaru will be conducted according to the law of the land. “There will be no interference in any way,” he said.