BANGALORE: The probe into the rape accused Lingayat seer Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru has revealed that he allegedly sexually assaulted minor girls for more than decade, police sources said on Monday, September 19.

Shiva Murthy Sharanaru is currently lodged in the district jail of Chitradurga.

The alarming allegations made by a number of witnesses against the accused seer's practise of sexually abusing minors in the Chitradurga Murugha mutt for more than ten years are being confirmed by the police.

Sharananda Swamiji, who was formerly with the Murugha mutt, has said that there were more victims. He also asserted that some of the victims were forced to have abortions while others fled the mutt hostel and vanished. He claimed that the accused seer used the mutt's orphaned children, known as "basava," for sexual favours.

According to the sources, the police are also looking into the alleged seer's travels abroad amid claims that he visited Thailand for a "pleasure trip."

There are further allegation that the accused had built a state-of-the-art/modern bathroom, where he called the minors and assaulted them.

He had also constituted a group of boys to cater to his requirements by convincing girls to cooperate with him.

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