Dalit outfits hold protest demanding arrest of Karnataka seer accused of sexual abuse
Chitradurga, Aug 30: Dalit organisations staged a protest here on Tuesday, demanding the immediate arrest of Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru, the chief pontiff of Murugha Math, who has been booked under the POCSO Act for alleged sexual abuse of high school girls, even as some seers came out in his support.
Meanwhile, the two girls appeared before a local court here to record their statements.
They appeared before the Second JMFC Court, along with some authorities amid security, and their statements were recorded under CrPC 164, official sources said.
Dalit organisations staged a protest here raising slogans demanding justice, and called the seer, a "sexual abuser".
"If some common man is accused in a rape case, police wouldn't have let him out even for a single day, but because this Swamiji is influential, he has still not been arrested. He should have been arrested immediately. No action is being taken against him, he is not even being questioned," District President of 'Dalita Horata Sameeti' Ravi said.
"As (one of) the victim(s) is a Dalit, an atrocity case has also been booked. If he is not arrested immediately Dalit organisations will stage protests across the state," he added.
Meanwhile, several seers claiming to be pontiffs of branch or subordinate maths of Murugha math, coming out in support of their chief pontiff, expressed hope he will come out clean and truth will prevail.
"All the shakha mathadeeshas of Murugha maths, pontiffs of various communities and all devotees are with the seer in his fight. Many senior pontiffs of prominent maths have also expressed their support, truth will prevail," they said.
"Children are like god, we have affection for them, but in this case investigation is happening and truth will come out," one of the seers said, but none of them were in a position to respond when asked how they can have concern for victim girls, when they were coming out in support of the accused. They tried to leave the press conference mid-way.
Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru on Monday claimed that the allegations were part of a long-drawn conspiracy against him, indicated an inside job, and vowed to come out clean in the case.
The chief pontiff of one of the Lingayat seminaries in the state, the seer also said he was law-abiding and would cooperate with the investigation.
The Mysuru city police on Saturday filed an FIR against the seer under the Protection of Children From Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and certain sections of the Indian Penal Code for the alleged sexual abuse.
The FIR was registered against a total of five people, including the warden of the monastery's hostel, based on the complaint by an officer of the District Child Protection Unit.
Two girls had approached a non-governmental organisation in Mysuru and narrated the alleged abuse following which it contacted the authorities and the case was registered by the police. It was subsequently shifted to Chitradurga, the place of occurrence of the alleged chime.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
