Meet to remove Pocso accused as mutt pontiff ends in a chaos
MYSURU: A meeting called by former minister H Ekanthaiah on Saturday to unseat Pocso case accused Shivamurthy Sharanaru as Sri Jagadguru Murugharajendra (SJM) mutt pontiff ended in chaos after a group of the seer’s followers opposed the appointment of an administrator to mutt by the state government.
ThemeetwascalledbyLingayat leaders and elders after Sharana refused to step down as mutt pontiff. FollowingthisarrestonSeptemenr 1, Sharanaru had appointed Basavaprabhu Swamiji as the in-charge pontiff of the mutt on October 16. The Lingayat leaders took a delegation to chief minister BasavarajaBommaionOctober14 and urged him to appoint a new pontiffandadministratorformutt.
Bommai on November 4 had ordered Chitradurga deputy commissioner Divya Prabhu to submit a detailed report about the mutt within a week. Prabhu conducted an inspection of the mutt and submitteda70-pagereporttothestate government on November 10 in a sealed cover. Despite the report, the state government did not take any action, alleged Lingayat leaders. At the meeting, a few followers backed Sharanaru who is in jail. This was opposed by another group, leading to chaos. Police intervened and brought the situation under control.
“The meeting has constituted a 9-member committee headed by me to take further action to oust tainted pontiff Shivamurthy. We willwritealettertoCMBommaito appoint an administrator. If he doesn’t take any action, the committee will approach courts for legalaction,” Ekanthaihsaid. “The pontiff has refused to step down and has kept all powers with him. He spoiled the prestige, Sharana tradition, Basava principles, and 400 years of belief by committing this crime.”
He said the Lingayat community is against the tainted pontiff andiscommittedtoupholdingthe tradition and values of SJM mutt.
Meanwhile, Global Lingayat Mahasabhanationalsecretaryand retired IAS officer S M Jamadar told reporters in Belagavi that the government should appoint an administratorwithbackgroundon Basava principles . He warned of protests if a person of Veerashaiva background is appointed as the administrator. The pontiff has been in custody since September 1 in the case under provisions of the ProtectionofChildrenfromSexual Offences(Pocso) Act. AnotherFIR wasregisteredagainstSharanarua on October 19 night after another two girls alleging sexual assault of minor girls, said police. The first case was registered on August 25.
The complaint was lodged with the Nazarbad police in Mysuru by the Child Welfare Committee. Accordingtothepolice, twominor girls, aged 12 and 14 years, were studying in mutt-run educational institution.