Accused Lingayat seer sexually assaulted minors for over a decade: Police sources

Bengaluru, Sep 19 (IANS) The investigation into the rape accused Lingayat seer Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru has revealed that he allegedly sexually assaulted minor girls for over a decade, police sources said on Monday.

Shivamurthy Sharanaru is presently lodged in the district prison of Chitradurga.

The police are corroborating the shocking statements issued by several people against the accused seer's habit of sexually exploiting minors in the Chitradurga Murugha mutt for over 10 years.

Sharananda Swamiji, who was formerly with the Murugha mutt, has stated that there were more victims.

He also claimed that some of the victims had to get abortions, while others left the mutt hostel and disappeared.

He said that the accused seer used orphaned children in the mutt, who were called 'basava', for sexual favors.

The police also are investigating foreign trips made by the accused seer amidst accusations that he went to Thailand on a 'pleasure trip', the sources said.

There are also allegation that the accused had built a state-of-the-art bathroom, where he called the minors and assaulted them.

He had also constituted a group of boys to cater to his needs by convincing girls to cooperate with him.