Lingayat Mutt scandal: No sexual assault injuries found on minors, says Chief Medical officer

Mangalore Today News Network / News18

Bengaluru, Jan 04, 2023: A medical report of the two minor girls, who have accused the chief pontiff of Sri Murugha Mutt Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru of sexual assault, has revealed that they suffered no injuries indicating sexual assault, according to a report on Wednesday.

 

The Chief Medical Officer of Chitradurga district hospital, who conducted the medical examination of the girls, told NDTV, “As per the history given by the victims, there has been no injuries indicating repeat sexual assault. Hymen intact, no discharges".

Sharanaru is in judicial custody since September 1 and faces charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for sexual assault against minor girls.

The Karnataka Police had, in November, booked an FIR against the mother of one of the minors in connection with “tutoring and provoking" victims to file a case of sexual harassment against Sharanaru. The in-charge seer of Murugha Mutt, Basavaprabhu Swamiji filed the complaint against the woman who was a former cook at the mutt, school teacher Basavarajendra and Mysuru-based NGO Odanadi for conspiracy to frame Sharanaru in the rape case.

The police registered a case against the three accused of inciting the minor girls to make false allegations against the mutt after a 14-minute purported audio clip that went viral on social media stated the victim girls were being tutored to lodge a case against Sharanaru.

However, despite the latest medical report contradicting allegations of repeated sexual abuse of minors over three years at the ashram in Chitradurga, the final report depends on the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL)’s findings. The FSL report, under examination at the Hubballi FSL lab, has not been released yet, according to NDTV.

Lawyer Srinivas D C, who is representing the victims, said the medical report findings would not affect their case. Citing the Supreme Court, he said, “the evidence of the victim should be beyond suspicion and worth believing, and only on the basis of the statement of the victim, under circumstances relying solely on the statement of the victim, the medical report becomes secondary or ignored and conviction can be imposed."