Sex video featuring pontiff aired on TV, sparks tension

Outrage broke out on Thursday after footage emerged of a junior pontiff being intimate with a woman.

Dayananda S, junior pontiff of the Hunasamaranahalli Samsthana, was caught on camera in a compromising position. The video was aired through the day on Kannada news channels.

The mutt, in Hunasamaranahalli near the Kempegowda International Airport, has a history of 500 years.

Dayananda is the son of Pattada Sri Parvatharaja Shivacharya Swami, who heads the mutt.

Protesters shouted slogans, and said Dayananda and his father had brought disrepute to the mutt.

Tension prevailed at the mutt soon after the video was aired on television.

Trustees chased away Niranjan, associated with the mutt, who came to pacify them. "One of the richest mutts in the state, the Hunasamaranahalli Samsthana had thousands of acres donated by Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar," Mahesh, a trustee, said. Wadiyar was the last maharaja of Mysuru.

Dayananda and Parvatharaja Shivacharya swami have sold hundreds of acres to private parties, he told DH.

Revenue officials inspected the mutt on Thursday to see if any portion had been sold off. Protesters lodged complaints with the deputy commissioner, assistant commissioner and the police.

"Devotees demanding action against Dayananda for luring the woman can't be entertained. She has to complain for us to take action,” a senior policeman said.

Son as successor
Trouble had been brewing since 2011, when Parvatharaja Shivacharya Swami, heading the mutt, hastily appointed his son Dayananda as his successor.

Trustees have challenged the decision before the high court. They allege the two have quietly sold parcels of land belonging to the mutt.