According to the first information report (FIR), which is based on a complaint made by the Mysuru-based NGO Odanadi Seva Samsthe, the pope, a second seer, and two other people are accused of abusing two young high school girls who were staying in the mutt’s dormitory sexually. The POCSO Act of 2012 (also known as the POCSO Act) and several rape statutes have been used to charge the defendant. The dormitory warden was one of the culprits, according to police sources, PTI said.
The Nazarabad Police Station was where the initial FIR was filed. Later, the matter was moved to the Chitradurga Rural Police Station because the mutt was under their purview. Yediyurappa, who represents Karnataka’s 17% Lingayat population, is regarded as the most significant Lingayat politician in the BJP. Lingayat votes have the power to influence the formation of the state’s government. Yediyurappa has offered more of his assistance to the Lingayat seer. Yediyurappa declined to answer when asked if there is a plot against the seer by the media. But he was very clear when he said: “The charges against Swamiji are false. There is no ounce of truth to it, and on completion of the investigation, he will come out clean.”
There are more than 500 mutts in Karnataka, and about a dozen of them are regarded as having enormous influence. While the practise of mutts endorsing candidates or political parties dates back to the early 1950s, numerous of these religious groups have recently publicly backed candidates, supported political parties, or even pushed for party tickets. These mutts’ religious leaders come from a variety of castes, including the Lingayats, Vokkaligas, and Other Backward Castes. They are renowned for their enormous efforts to help the socially and economically disadvantaged people by providing them with food, education, and employment.
No other BJP leader from Karnataka has this kind of support. This is also one of the explanations for why Yediyurappa intervened to give the Murugha seer, who had fervently backed Yediyurappa’s retention as chief minister, a “clean chit.” The veteran was superseded by Basavaraj Bommai, who had to submit to the high command’s demands. According to senior political analyst Sandeep Shastri, there is no denying the impact and authority that mutts have in Karnataka.
