Transfer seer’s case to a neutral state

The delay in arresting Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanu, the seer who heads the Chitradurga-based Murugha Mutt, who has been accused of sexually harassing two minor girls, one of them a Dalit, is another instance of how those in positions of power are able to dodge the long arm of law, albeit temporarily in this case, with the help of politicians and police. An FIR under various sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered against the seer after the two girls alleged sexual harassment by him. The girls were residents of a hostel run by the mutt. They had complained to an NGO, Odanadi Seva Samsthe, about the alleged sexual harassment by Shivamurthy with the connivance of the hostel warden and three others. The Murugha Mutt is an influential institution of the dominant Lingayat community and top politicians make a show of their reverence for it because of the clout it wields among voters in the region. According to the complaint, one victim was abused for three-and-a-half years and the other for one-and-a-half years. The girls, who escaped from the hostel, travelled to Bengaluru and approached the police but were turned away. They then knocked on the doors of the NGO in Mysuru, where a complaint was first registered and then transferred to the jurisdictional police station in Chitradurga.

The support extended by politicians to the seer is an attempt to influence investigations, uncalled for and inappropriate. The most insensitive statement came from former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, himself a Lingayat, who gave Shivamurthy a clean chit even before the investigations began and accused the victims of filing a false complaint. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, also a Lingayat, took a docile position, while the Opposition Congress and JD(S) simply looked the other way. They have shamed themselves by failing to stand by the victims and their right to a fair investigation and justice.

On the day Shivamurthy’s anticipatory bail application was to come up for hearing, he developed a ‘serious’ heart ailment and was admitted to a hospital. However, judge Komala, who sought his presence in the court, was not convinced of the claims of ill-health and remanded him to police custody. The manner in which the case has been handled so far by the state gives no confidence that justice will be done. The case should either be transferred to a neutral state, as demanded by some Dalit organisations, or should be investigated by an SIT monitored by the High Court. Let the law take its course, but at this point, the victims who say they were sexually exploited for years deserve sympathy and support.