Third FIR against Murugha Mutt pontiff filed
Chitradurga: A third FIR has been filed for violation of Juvenile Justice Act by Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru, pontiff of the Murugha Mutt, who is in judicial custody, facing charges of sexual assault of minor girls.
The fresh FIR was filed on Tuesday by Chitradurga Rural Police against the pontiff and three others, for housing two girls sans permission at the ladies’ hostel of the Murugha Mutt. It is learned that the FIR was filed under the Juvenile Justice Act.
The police filed the FIR following a complaint by the District Child Welfare Committee against the pontiff, who is president of the Murugha Mutt Trust, secretary Paramashivayya, hostel warden and manager of the adoption centre of the non-government organization Madilu, said sources.
The officers, who paid a recent visit investigating the running case under POCSO Act against the pontiff, had found two girls housed at the hostel of the Mutt without permission. They registered a case at the Rural Police Station for housing the girls without informing the Child Welfare Committee of the matter.
The case was registered with the legal advice of the Child Welfare Committee, sources said.
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Syria says Israeli strikes leave 18 dead in the biggest toll since the war in Gaza began
Masyaf (Syria), Sep 9: The number of people killed in overnight Israeli strikes in Syria has risen to 18 with dozens more wounded, Syria's health minister said on Monday — the largest death toll in such an attack since the beginning of the war in Gaza.
One of the sites targeted was a research centre used in the development of weapons, a war monitor said. Syrian officials said civilian sites were targeted.
Israel regularly targets military sites in Syria linked to Iran and the Lebanese group Hezbollah. Those strikes have become more frequent as Hezbollah has exchanged fire with Israeli forces for the past 11 months against the backdrop of Israel's war against Hamas — a Hezbollah ally — in Gaza.
However, the intensity and death toll of Sunday night's strikes were unusual.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of war-torn Syria in recent years, but it rarely acknowledges or discusses the operations. The strikes often target Syrian forces or Iranian-backed groups.
Israel has vowed to stop Iranian entrenchment in Syria, particularly since Syria is a key route for Iran to send weapons to Hezbollah.
Israeli strikes hit several areas in central Syria, damaging a highway in Hama province and sparking fires, Syrian state news agency SANA said.
Speaking to reporters, Syrian Health Minister Hassan al-Ghabbash described the strikes as a “brutal and barbaric aggression”. He said the death toll had risen to 18 with nearly 40 wounded.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, said 25 were killed, including at least five civilians, while the others included Syrian army soldiers and members of Hezbollah and other Iran-linked armed groups.
One strike targeted a scientific research centre in Masyaf, and others struck sites where “Iranian militias and experts are stationed to develop weapons in Syria”, the observatory said. It said the research centre was reportedly used for developing weapons, including short- and medium-range precision missiles and drones.
Minister of Electricity Mohammad al-Zamel said the strikes had caused “truly significant” damage to water and electricity infrastructure.
“This brutal attack targeted civilian targets, and the martyrs were mostly civilians, as were the wounded,” he said.
Local media also reported strikes around the coastal city of Tartous, which the observatory said were the result of air defense missiles falling.
On Monday afternoon, a charred car remained at the scene of one strike and smoke was still rising from some spots where fires had been put out.
