BENGALURU – BJP MLC H. Vishwanath on Tuesday criticised the Karnataka government over its handling of POCSO case against the rape-accused Lingayat priest Dr. Murugha Shivamurthy Sharanaru.
If Home Minister Araga Jnanendra has any shame, he should initiate action against the accused seer, he said.
“Chitradurga Superintendent should be suspended immediately for not initiating action against the seer. I will write a detailed letter with all inputs to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking protection of the minor girls,” he lashed out.
“No politician, opposition leaders, social scientists, psychologists are opening their mouths on the issue. Everything is being viewed politically. The parties are scared of losing votes if they speak on the issue. Everything is vote bank politics,” MLC Vishwanath stated.
“No one is bothered about the minor girls who have been meted out with injustice. For the sake of votes, you are supporting someone who is accused of raping minor girls?” he asserted.
The accused seer who was moving towards Maharashtra has been stopped and respectfully brought back by police back to his mutt. Even after four days of lodging a complaint, the authorities are not functioning properly. The district administration and superintendent of police of Chitradurga must be suspended immediately, Vishwanath maintained.
POCSO act is a strong law brought after the Nirbhaya case in 2012 to protect minor girls from sexual violations. The accused in the POCSO case must be arrested in 24 hours. The person who faces charges under POCSO act is not an accused and he is considered as a perpetrator. “What is this? Everyone is set out to disrespect the law of the land,” he said.
Vishwanath further advised the accused seer to step down from the position of mutt seer temporarily and submit to legal action in the interest of safety of minor girls and their families. “I know the accused seer. Once he comes out clean, the society will respect him more,” he added.
Meanwhile, hundreds of workers attached to the Dalit Sangharsha Samithi took out a procession in Chitradurga demanding arrest of the accused seer.