Chitradurga: We are living in times when it is difficult for a girl to approach a seer, Shamanuru Shivashankarappa, veteran political leader and president of the Veerashaiva Mahasabha, has said.

Addressing a national-level theatre programme in Sanehalli, Hosdurg taluk, on Tuesday, Shivashankarappa expressed his worries in the backdrop of the Murugha Mutt pontiff facing charges of sexual assault on minor girls.

“Parents from any background would want their children to get good education and prosper in life. Now, we are witnessing a situation where a parent would fear sending a girl near a pontiff,” said the leader, also condemning such a social situation.

Advising girls also to be careful, Shivashankarappa stated that the Veerashaiva Mahasabha would take appropriate decision in the matter.

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Kolkata (PTI): The judgement in the brutal rape and murder of an on-duty doctor at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital here will be delivered later on Saturday.

Sanjay Roy, who was a civic volunteer with the Kolkata Police, was charged with committing the crime on the postgraduate trainee at the state-run hospital in the northern part of the city on August 9 last year.

The judgement will be delivered by Anirban Das, the additional district and sessions judge of the Sealdah court, 57 days after the in-camera trial commenced on November 12.

The Kolkata Police, which was investigating the case initially arrested Roy on August 10, a day after the medic's body was recovered from the seminar room of the hospital. The Calcutta High Court later transferred the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The in-camera trial in the rape and murder of the doctor commenced on November 12.

The hearing in Roy's trial was concluded on January 9, during which 50 witnesses were examined. The parents of the deceased doctor have claimed that other persons were involved in the crime and expected that they would also be arrested and tried before the court.

The victim's parents have also filed an application before the court seeking further investigation into the case.

The crime led to nationwide outrage and prolonged protests by junior doctors in Kolkata, demanding justice for the victim and adequate security arrangements in state-run hospitals.