Pressure mounts on rape accused K'taka Lingayat seer to step down
Darpan News Desk IANS, 29 Sep, 2022 11:08 AM
Bengaluru, Sep 29 (IANS) Pressure mounted on the rape accused, jailed Karnataka Lingayat seer Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru, to step down as the head of Chitradurga Murugha Mutt, amid the demand that new religious pontiff should be anointed in place of accused seer.
The followers and prominent leaders of the Lingayat community held an important meeting in Chitradurga to discuss the future of the historical, cash rich mutt on Thursday.
Making things more complicated, Karnataka High Court has denied permission temporarily to the accused Lingayat seer to put his signatures to cheques. Sources state that as accused seer is not allowed to sign the 200 plus cheques, the activities of the mutt are severely affected and employees are not able to get salaries.
The High Court which took a sympathetic view on employees earlier and it was expected that it would give consent. The mutt has 3,000 branches all over the country and runs more than 150 premier education and other institutes.
In spite of the pressure and demand to step down, the accused seer has categorically refused to quit, according to sources. The meeting was held in the leadership of former minister H Ekantaiah in this regard and discussed future course of action.
The leaders discussed how to retain the legacy, history and heritage of the Chitradurga Mutt as accused seer is refusing to step down. Many leaders had demanded in the meeting to appoint a new swamiji.
In another development, a group of religious seers met the accused Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru at the prison and held important discussion. The details of the meeting have not been made public.
Denying bail to rape accused Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru, the powerful Lingayat seer of Chitradurga Murugha Mutt, the Second District Additional Sessions Court on Tuesday extended his judicial custody till October 10.
Judge B.K. Komala also extended the judicial custody of accused number two, hostel warden Rashmi till October 10.
The accused seer, whose judicial custody ended on Tuesday, was presented before the court and later after the order, he was taken to the Central Jail of Chitradurga district.
The sources also said that they have identified around 22 mobile numbers of PFI student wing members who were present in the area before the violence erupted. They said that the probe agencies have been trying to ascertain their activities and they may be questioned by the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police.
The packet had come through the cargo to Sirajudeen on April 17, and on Monday a person named Naukul had come to take it. The officials used a gas cutter to open the meat slicer and recovered 2.26 kg of gold stacked inside the machine.
Terming the development as a black day in the history of Punjab, Badal said never before in the history of the state had outsiders been given control of the state and its future generations in this manner.
Sidhu has been left out in the cold ever since the party lost the elections in Punjab earlier this year. He was asked to resign after the party appointed Amrinder Singh Raja Warring as the new President of Punjab Congress. Since then the Congress has set up a new team in Punjab, reportedly annoying the former state Congress chief.
Announcing to replicate the Delhi Model in the state, the Chief Minister said 117 government schools and an equal number of mohalla clinics will be set up with one each in every assembly segment across the state to impart quality education and the state-of-the-art healthcare facilities.
A spokesperson for the Chief Minister's Office said the move is aimed at sprucing up the health and education infrastructure of Punjab by replicating the Delhi model in both these core sectors.
