A 40-year-old religious mutt head on the outskirts of Bengaluru has been arrested after a 25-year-old woman accused him of sexually exploiting her and threatening to kill her.
Dayananda, also known as Nanjeshwara Shivacharya Swamy, heads the Hunasamaranahalli Mutt. He was arrested on Monday morning by police from the North East Division. He was produced before an Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court, which remanded him to 14 days of judicial custody.
The case was registered at the North East Division Women’s Police Station on the basis of the woman’s complaint. According to police, the woman lives near the mutt and had known Dayananda for about three years. She alleged that he had been harassing her for approximately a year and had threatened her life.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (North East Division) G. K. Mithun Kumar said the victim provided audio and video recordings of herself with the accused, which are being verified. The case has been registered under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to sexual intercourse by deceitful means, criminal intimidation, and intentional insult with intent to provoke a breach of the peace.
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The Hunasamaranahalli Mutt is associated with the Srisailam Mutt, one of the five prominent religious centres of the Veerashaiva Lingayat community known as the Pancha Peethas. The institution is also reported to have extensive land holdings.
Police said the investigation is continuing.
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