Renowned journalist P Sainath returns Basavashree Award conferred to him by Shri Murugha Mutt
Says returning award in solidarity with survivors of alleged sexual abuse by Chief Pontiff of Mutt
Bengaluru: Senior Journalist and Founder-Editor of People’s Archive of Rural India, P Sainath on Friday returned his Basavashree Award conferred to him by the Shir Murugha Mutt in Chitradurga.
In an official statement, Sainath said that he was returning the award in solidarity with the minor girls who have alleged that they were sexually abused by the Chief Pontiff of the Mutt Shri Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru.
The Chief Pontiff is facing charges under the POCSO Act after two high school students approached an NGO and explained their ordeal leading to the NGO filing a police complaint against the pontiff.
“No words are strong enough to condemn any such offences against children. In solidarity with the survivors and with the cause of Justice in this case, I hereby return the Basavashree award (and the Rs. 5 lakhs prize money that came with it, by cheque) conferred on me by the Math in 2017.” Sainath said in his statement.
“I would like to record my appreciation of the efforts of the Mysuru-based NGO "OdaNadi" to bring the awful incidents to light and their decades-long fight against social evils. And I appeal to the Karnataka government to pursue the investigation into the scandal vigorously and not allow that to be compromised on any grounds whatsoever.” He further added.
Shri Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru was arrested by the cops on Wednesday evening in connection with the case, seven days after the complaint was filed against him. On Friday, the court sent him to police custody till September 5.
He was produced on Friday in a local court, where the police sought five days' custody.
The seer wrapped himself in a white cloth around his saffron attire and was taken in a wheelchair to the court.
Thick security cover was given all over the place right from the hospital, where he was taken after he complained of chest pain, to the court with barricades on key roads along the way.
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Second PUC results: Life convict clears exam with distinction, DGP lauds effort
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Bengaluru: A life convict lodged in Ballari Central Prison has successfully cleared the second PUC examination.
Ashok Kumar S, who appeared for the examination under prison escort, secured 481 marks out of 600, registering 80.1 percent.
Director General of Police (Prisons and Correctional Services), Alok Kumar (IPS), shared the development on his official ‘X’ handle, commending the inmate’s achievement.
In his post, he stated that it was heartening to see a life convict score over 80 percent in the examination, adding that the inmate had appeared from Ballari Central Prison under escort.
It’s heartening to see that one of our life convict prisoners Ashok has obtained 80.1% marks in PUC exam. He appeared under Prison escort from Ballari Central Prison for his exams.
— alok kumar (@alokkumar6994) April 9, 2026
Glad to see that Walls of the prison has not subdued his hopes for a better future. pic.twitter.com/Nzlcy076SR
He further noted that the achievement reflected that the “walls of the prison have not subdued his hopes for a better future.”
Alok Kumar in his post also shared the result sheet of Ashok.
The Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board (KSEAB) declared the second PUC results for 2026 on April 9.
A total of 6,32,200 students appeared for the examination across all streams, of whom 5,46,698 passed, recording an overall pass percentage of 86.48 per cent.
