Chitradurga, Sep 14: A court in Karnataka's Chitradurga has extended the judicial custody of Shivamurthy Sharanaru Swami, chief pontiff of the Murugha Math, till September 27.

The Second Additional District and Sessions Court Judge B K Komala heard the case as the pontiff's judicial custody was to end on Wednesday.

The seer was in judicial custody for a night on September 1. He was taken into police custody for three days on September 2 and later to judicial custody till September 14 by the same court. He has been lodged in the Chitradurga district prison.

Sharanaru is facing charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

He and four others are accused in the case where two minor girls aged 15 and 16 were allegedly sexually abused. They were students in the school run by Murugha Math and stayed in the math's hostel.

The complaint was filed by NGO Odanadi Seva Samsthe in Mysuru and the case then shifted to Chitradurga.

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Noida (PTI): IndiGo on Thursday announced that it will start commercial flight operations from the Noida International Airport in Jewar from June 15, becoming the launch carrier for the greenfield airport in western Uttar Pradesh.

The first day flights will be to and fro Lucknow and Bengaluru, the airline said in a statement.

Noida International Airport was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 28.

IndiGo said it will be the first carrier to start commercial services from the airport, the third in the National Capital Region (NCR).

According to the airline, inaugural flights on June 15 will operate on the Lucknow-Noida-Bengaluru-Noida-Lucknow sector.

As per the announced schedule, flight 6E 2278 will depart from Lucknow at 7.05 am and arrive in Noida at 8.05 am before departing for Bengaluru at 8.35 am and landing there at 11.05 am.

The return flight, 6E 2279, will leave Bengaluru at 3.45 pm and reach Noida at 6.20 pm before departing for Lucknow at 6.55 pm and arriving there at 8 pm.

IndiGo said it will gradually introduce direct flights connecting Noida International Airport to more than 16 destinations across the country, including metro cities such as Bengaluru and Hyderabad, besides tier-2 and tier-3 cities like Amritsar, Chandigarh, Dharamsala, Jaipur, Lucknow, Navi Mumbai, Pantnagar and Srinagar.

The airline said bookings for the flights are being opened in phases through its website, mobile application and authorised travel partners.

Aloke Singh, Chief Strategy Officer of IndiGo, said the airline was pleased to announce the launch of operations from Noida International Airport.

"Strategically positioned on the Yamuna Expressway, Noida International Airport will be the new gateway for western Uttar Pradesh alongside the NCR. As we continue to expand our operations, we remain committed to delivering affordable, on-time and hassle-free travel experiences," Singh said.

IndiGo said the airport is expected to emerge as a major domestic aviation hub and will strengthen connectivity between Delhi-NCR and western Uttar Pradesh through integrated road and rail infrastructure.