Karnataka: Sessions court drops rape charges against seer

BENGALURU: In a big relief to Raghaveshwara Bharathi Swami, the seer of Ramachandrapura math, a sessions court discharged him of the allegations and gave him a clean chit in the rape case filed against him by Ramkatha singer Premalatha. However, the CID, which is investigating the case, has decided to question the order in the High Court.

Advocate Arun Sham, representing the seer, had filed a discharge petition seeking the court to drop charges against his client. The Judge of the 36th City Civil and Sessions Court, Mudigoudar, allowed the petition and discharged the seer of the allegations.

The judge observed that the case was not fit to proceed further. “There is prima facie no evidence against the accused. Even the details of the offences alleged are not made out. There is absolutely no material in support of statements made by the prosecution,” the judge observed before passing the order.

It is learnt that the police had mentioned that they had seized two hair strands during mahazar, while the FSL reports reportedly stated they had received six strands. Also, the DNA reports stated that the semen on the clothes provided by the complainant did not match with the accused. These factors have reportedly worked in favour of the seer.

The Special Public Prosecutor in the case, B.A. Belliappa, told Deccan Chronicle that the prosecution would challenge the order in the High Court and a petition will be submitted in this connection in a few days.

Following the court order, the seer’s disciples celebrated on the math premises in Girinagar. The seer told reporters that the court order was a victory for truth.

It may be recalled that Premalatha Divakar, a renowned Ramkatha singer, had filed a case against the seer accusing him of sexually harassing her during several occasions. The case was registered with Girinagar police in 2014 and was transferred to CID for further investigation.