Fresh FIR against Murugha Mutt pontiff, six others in sexual abuse case
Mysuru: The Nazarbad Police filed FIRs late Thursday night against seven people, including Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru, for sexual abuse and abetting a crime under the POCSO Act.
A woman in Mysuru has complained to the Nazarbad police that the pontiff had abused her daughters when they were staying at the hostel of the Murugha Mutt in Chitradurga. She has said that the pontiff ‘regularly’ abused the girls sexually, till they reached puberty, said sources.
In her police complaint, the woman has said, “I started working in the Mutt six years ago and got my daughters admitted to Classes 3 and 1 at the school of the Mutt. My daughters were given rooms at the Mutt hostel itself. The pontiff sexually abused my daughters in 2019 and during the period of Covid-19 outbreak in 2020.”
She added in the complaint, “My daughters said that the pontiff would order the hostel warden Rashmi and the cook’s assistant Karibasava to lead him to them in the afternoons and use them for his pleasure. They said that this continued till they attained puberty.”
The mother informed the police that two girls aged 15 years and one each aged 14 years and 12 years, were also sexually abused by the pontiff.
“Since the Murugha Mutt pontiff was an influential person and since my daughters were minors, I was afraid to speak of this. Now, I sought the help of the NGO Odanadi Seva Samsthe to approach and file a complaint with Nazarbad Police,” said the woman.
Complaints have been registered against the pontiff, hostel warden Rashmi, Basavaditya, Basavalingappa, residents of Mysuru Gangadharayya and Paramashivayya, and the assistant cook Karibasava, sources added.
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Deepfake video of Nirmala Sitharaman used to dupe Belagavi man in Rs 7.9 lakh scam
Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): A 76-year-old man in Belagavi city was allegedly cheated of Rs 7.9 lakh in an online investment scam that used an AI-generated deepfake video misusing the name of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to lure investors, police said on Wednesday.
An online fraud case was registered at the cybercrime police station on May 1, they said.
According to Belagavi Police Commissioner Bhushan Gulabrao Borase, the victim, Prakash Gubbi, a senior citizen, stated in his complaint that in November last year, he came across a video on YouTube in which Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman appeared to endorse an investment scheme.
The video also mentioned a link in its description for making investments.
The victim clicked on the link, entered his details, and was later contacted on social media by a person identifying himself as Adarsh Anand, who persuaded him to invest, the officer told reporters.
Citing the complaint, the officer said the victim initially invested a small amount, after which the application began showing profits of USD 65,000.
When he attempted to withdraw the amount, the accused demanded a “customs duty” payment of Rs 4.2 lakh, claiming it was required to process the withdrawal.
The victim paid the amount, after which he was asked to pay an additional Rs 2 lakh. It was at this stage that he realised he had been cheated. In total, he lost around Rs 7.9 lakh in the fraud, the officer added.
A case has been registered under relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act, and police are investigating the matter, police said.
The commissioner cautioned the public not to trust such videos, stating that the finance minister does not endorse any such schemes.
He warned that such content is created using artificial intelligence and deepfake technology.
He further advised the public to remain vigilant, avoid offers that appear too good to be true on the internet, and invest only through legitimate, registered agencies or trusted channels.
Deepfake technology enables the creation of realistic videos, audio recordings, and images that can mislead viewers by superimposing one person’s likeness onto another, altering their words and actions. This can present a false narrative or spread misinformation.
