Murugha mutt seer, 2 others acquitted in Pocso case

Second Additional Sessions Court Judge Gangadharappa Hadapad held that the seer and two co-accused, Rashmi and Paramashivayya, were not guilty of the charges brought against them. The judge stated briefly that “the accused in the POCSO case are acquitted.”

A detailed judgement is awaited.

The case was registered in August 2022 after two minors residing in the hostel alleged sexual abuse by five individuals, including the seer, a warden, a manager, and two others associated with the institution. The FIR was registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (Sections 5(L), 6, 7) and the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Sections 376(2)(N), 376(3), 149).

The case, first filed in Mysuru, was later transferred to Chitradurga. Police arrested the seer and the warden within six days. The seer remained in jail for nearly 14 months. Two names were dropped from the chargesheet filed on October 27, 2022, with investigators citing lack of merit in the FIR.