Karnataka seer found hanging after audio clip on assault goes viral

Basavasiddalinga Swami (53), the seer of Guru Madiwaleshwara Mutt at Neginahaal in Bailhongal taluk, was found hanging from the ceiling of his room in the mutt on Monday morning.

Devotees of the mutt expressed shock and grief at the passing away of the seer. “The seer was anointed as peetadhipati of Madiwaleshwar Mutt in 2007 after he had his school and spiritual education at Murugha Mutt in Chitradurga. The swamiji was respected and revered by the villagers. The mutt was abuzz with activities with bhajans and ghostis during the auspicious month of Shravan. We are clueless about the cause behind the extreme step,” a devotee of the mutt told DH.

The seer is said to have left an unsigned death note saying that nobody should be held responsible for his death.

Sources said, the seer was upset after his name came up in a purported conversation between two unidentified women about the sexual exploitation of girls and women by some seers. The audio clip of which went viral on social media platforms.

A pall of gloom descended on the village when the residents and devotees of the mutt after the news of seer’s passing away spread. They staged a sit-in in front of the mutt preventing the police to enter the premises. Hours later, the agitating villagers relented and allowed the police to shift the body for post-mortem.

According to mutt sources, the mortal remains of the seer will be laid to rest at Neginahall village on Tuesday.