Bengaluru: Lingayat seer associated with the Sri Murugha Mutt, Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru, was on Friday sent to police custody for four days after being produced before the Chitradurga District Sessions Court earlier in the day.
The chief pontiff of Murugha Math has been arrested for alleged sexual abuse of two minor girls, and was on Friday remanded to police custody till September 5. The seer was arrested on Thursday night and later developed health complications in jail. 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.
Sharanaru has been booked under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act for allegedly sexually abusing two high school girls, studying in a school run by the Math, and staying in the hostel also belonging to it.
Also read: Accused Lingayat seer develops chest pain, shifted to hospital from jail
The police had sought custody till September 5 for the seer who is accused of sexually assaulting minor girls, with the bench granting the same. The religious leader was transferred to a hospital from jail on Friday morning after he complained of chest pain and breathlessness the night before.
Reacting to the matter, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said that the state police have been given full freedom to handle the POCSO case. Talking to reporters at Mangaluru, Bommai when asked about arrest proceedings being delayed in the case said that it is not appropriate to talk over the matter at this juncture. "Everything is being done as per the law. There is no necessity to answer all questions. Police are given full freedom and they are carrying out their work and there should not be any opinions in this connection," he said.
