A woman dared to complain; she was tracked down, raped and murdered: Survivor on Karnataka seer

In her statement, the survivor told police that other girls told her the same story about the seer sexually harassing them. The survivor specifically mentioned a case in which a young woman went out to file a complaint. The pontiff and others found out; they caught her, raped her, and murdered her.

Team Newsable

First Published Nov 14, 2022, 9:45 PM IST

The Chitradurga-based Murugha Math seer Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru, booked for allegedly sexually assaulting girls in his ashram hostel, used to threaten them, saying he has contacts in the administration and the police.

This police statement was given by a survivor and is now part of the charge sheet filed against the 64-year-old pontiff in court. It was also reported that a girl who went out to file a police report was murdered.

As per the survivor, she landed in an ashram after losing both her parents; she has one brother. According to the complainant, she lived in a hostel with 150 other girls, the warden of which was Rashmi, the intermediary between the girls and the seer. She claimed the warden sent the girls whose names he would write on a slip.

According to the survivor, the seer stripped and raped her after getting drunk. She claimed she begged him to spare her as she came from a poor family.

In her statement, she told police that other girls told her the same story about the seer sexually harassing them.

The survivor specifically mentioned a case in which a young woman went out to file a complaint. The pontiff and others came to know, and they caught her, raped, and murdered her.

According to the survivor, she and her friend fled to Bengaluru, approached a police station, and were referred to a person who then took the girls to Odanadi Samstha' in Mysuru.

Fear gripped her as they fled the ashram as Sharanaru had once threatened her, saying, "I know the CM and the police officers."

The non-governmental organisation in Mysuru assisted the girls in filing a police complaint under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act.

Sharanaru was arrested on September 1 and is held in judicial custody based on the complaint.

(With inputs from PTI)

Also read: Guru Madiwaleshwara Math seer found dead in Belagavi, suicide suspected

Also read: Rape-accused Karnataka seer Shivamurthy Murugha sent to 4-day police custody

Also read: Police given full freedom to investigate Karanataka seer sexual abuse case: CM Basavaraj Bommai

Last Updated Nov 14, 2022, 9:45 PM IST