POCSO Act case filed against Harihara Panchamasali Gurupeetha ex-pontiff for sexually harassing boy
Davanagere: A POCSO Act case has been registered against Vachanananda Swami of Harihara Veerashaiva Lingayat Panchamasali Gurupeetha under charge of sexual harassment of a boy, following his dethroning as pontiff of the Mutt.
The Zero FIR, which had been filed at the Lakshmeshwara Police Station in Gadag district, has been handed over to the Harihara Rural Police Station under whose jurisdiction the place of crime is located. The investigation team from the Harihara Rural Police Station has taken the taken statement of the complainant.
The mother of the boy had complained to the Lakshmeshwara Police that the seer often used to get her son, who studied at the Mutt, to give him a massage. Harihara Police, who are currently probing the matter, will take the boy’s statement, Superintendent of Police Dr. HT Shekhar has said.
The seer was dethroned as pontiff of the Mutt recently, after a complaint of sexual harassment of the boy was filed against him. The dethroning also brought the matter of sexual harassment to public knowledge.
District Children’s Welfare Committee officers visited the Gurupeetha and collected statements of various people, including that of the seer.
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NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
