Lingayat mutt sex scandal: Withdraw administrator or face protest, say seers

Chitradurga, Dec 20 (IANS) A group of more than 40 seers who held a meeting at the Chitradurga Murugha Mutt on Tuesday have urged the ruling BJP in Karnataka to withdraw the decision of appointing an administrator for the mutt.

Basavaprabhu Sri, in-charge of the mutt, stated after the meeting that, "we request Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai by folding our hands to roll back the decision of appointment of administrator to the mutt".

If the government refuses, the seers would sit on dharna on December 26 in Chitradurga or Belagavi. Murugha has been given the power of attorney as per the directions of the High Court. The administration of the mutt is being smoothly carried out now, Basavaprabhu Sri stated.

The government should formulate laws for the protection of the seers or there would be a situation where no one will come forward to become a seer considering the risks, he claimed.

Those who hatch conspiracies are misusing the law. The POCSO act has also been misused. The appointment of the administrator should be cancelled, he said.

The Karnataka government had appointed an administrator for the Jagadguru Murugharajendra Bruhanmutt of Chitradurga in the place of rape accused seer Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru a week ago.

Deputy Secretary in the revenue department T.C. Kantharaj in his order announced that retired IAS officer P.S. Vastrad will be the administrator of the mutt.

The government also sought a ground report by the DC, Chitradurga. The report stated that since the accused seer is in judicial custody, the management of the immovable properties and the finances of the mutt has become difficult.

This is a public trust and there is a chance of things going against the public interest in case of mismanagement and misappropriation of funds. The trust affairs and management of education institutions will be affected, the report stated.

The accused seer is the lifetime head pontiff of the mutt and lifetime president of the education institutions and legal action in this regard is required, the report stated.

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