Lingayat mutt sex scandal: Accused seer denied bail, custody extended
Darpan News Desk IANS, 27 Sep, 2022 11:30 AM
Chitradurga (Karnataka), Sep 27 (IANS) Denying bail to rape accused Lingayat seer of the Chitradurga Murugha Mutt, a court in Karnataka's Chitradurga district extended the Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru's judicial custody till October 10.
Second Additional Sessions Judge B.K. Komala has also extended the judicial custody of accused number two, hostel warden Rashmi, till October 10.
As the accused seer's judicial custody ended on October 10, he was presented before the court and after its order, he was taken to the Central Jail in the district.
The court had earlier rejected his plea to consider bail on medical grounds and also denied him special permission to have food from the Mutt and conduct worship during the imprisonment.
Meanwhile, Veerashaiva-Lingayat leaders have called a meeting on September 29 to discuss on the accused seer's decision not to step down as the head of the Chitradurga mutt in spite of the serious allegations under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The mutt, one of the richest among the Lingayat mutts, has 3,000 branches all across the country and runs more than 150 premier education institutions.
The letter circulated among leaders of the community states that as the accused seer is not coming forward to step down, it would affect the heritage and prestige of the mutt, sources said.
Addressing the nation from the Red Fort, Prime Minister Modi said that the citizens are thankful to Bapu, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Babasaheb Ambedkar, Veer Savarkar and others who sacrificed their lives on the path of duty.
As India celebrates the 75th Independence Day with patriotic fervour and enthusiasm, police in the national capital have made stringent security arrangements, especially at the Red Fort, from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered his address to the nation.
An official statement quoting Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said Rs 295.60 crore was the pending arrears of sugarcane farmers which had to be paid by the government and cooperative sugar mills in the state.
A 25-year-old man was stabbed to death in full public view in the national capital, the police said on Friday. The deceased, identified as Mayank Panwar, was a hotel management student.
A senior Delhi Police official told IANS that on April 7, a case was registered at the Cyber Cell in which a fraudster impersonated as a senior government official using the WhatsApp display profile and the name of that dignitary and demanded financial favour in the shape of Amazon gift vouchers by pretending to be in trouble.
According to the Deputy Commissioner of Police from Punjab: "Extornist Sharif, alias Mazaralam Shaikh, had called up an Amritsar-based doctor demanding Rs 5 lakh as ransom. After introducing himself as Vicky Brar and a member of Lawrence Bishnoi and Goldy Brar, he had threatened to kill the doctor if the ransom money was not transferred into his account."
.jpg "PM Modi hoists Tricolour at Red Fort; remembers freedom fighters")
