PM Modi to visit Udupi’s Sri Krishna Math
Udupi (Karnataka) (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Udupi’s historic Sri Krishna Math on Friday.
According to officials, the Prime Minister will participate in the “Laksha Geeta Pathana”, a mass recitation in which more than one lakh devotees will chant verses from the Bhagavad Gita.
He is also expected to offer prayers at the Sri Krishna temple and receive blessings from the presiding Paryaya Swamiji.
This will be Modi’s third visit to Udupi and his second to the Sri Krishna Math.
He had first travelled to Udupi in 1993 and later in 2008 as the Chief Minister of Gujarat, during which he paid visits to the Krishna temple.
The visit is expected to draw significant national attention to one of Karnataka’s most revered pilgrimage centres and the spiritual seat of the 13th-century philosopher Sri Madhwacharya, the proponent of the Dvaita school of Vedanta.
In preparation for the event, the district administration, state police and central security agencies have intensified coordination to manage the anticipated crowds.
Thousands of devotees from across Karnataka and neighbouring states are expected to arrive for the mass chanting and to witness the Prime Minister’s temple visit.
Traffic diversions, security checks and pedestrian movement plans have been put in place around the temple town.
Udupi district officials said that the temple premises, surrounding streets and public congregation areas are being readied to accommodate the large gatherings.
Medical teams, emergency response units and volunteer groups have also been deployed to support the large gatherings.
The visit is expected to further highlight Udupi’s spiritual prominence and bring renewed national focus to the region’s Vaishnavite traditions. The centuries-old Sri Krishna Math, known for its unique traditions including the nine Mathas of Udupi, remains a major centre for religious scholarship and pilgrimage.
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Court orders FIR against Swami Avimukteshwaranand under POCSO ACT
Prayagraj (UP) (PTI): A special POCSO court here on Saturday ordered the Jhunsi Police Station SHO to register an FIR against Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati to investigate allegations of sexual abuse of boys.
Last week, the court of Special Judge (POCSO Act) Vinod Kumar Chaurasia reserved its decision on an application filed by Ashutosh Brahmachari Maharaj and others under Section 173(4) of the BNS after examining the evidence and recording the statements of the victimised 'batooks', the boys, as they are called at the ashram, Vidya Math.
The petitioner had filed the application seeking direction for an FIR against Avimukteshwaranand under sections 69, 74, 75, 76, 79, and 109 (all related to sexual assault) of the BNS, as well as sections 3/5/9 and 17 of the POCSO Act.
The court accepted the petition and ordered the police to conduct an investigation.
"Now we will get justice," Ashutosh Brahmachari said.
"Starting today, we are organising a Sanatan Yatra from here to Vidya Math (Varanasi). We will demonstrate how children are sexually abused on the fifth floor of Vidya Math. There is ample evidence of child abuse there. We have presented all the evidence to the court and will also provide it to the police," he said.
Avimukteshwarananda has been in the headlines for his confrontation with the organisers of the Magh Mela in Prayagraj. He accused the administration he was prevented from bathing on Mauni Amavasya.
