FIR against Mallikarjun Mutya challenged in High Court

An FIR that was registered against Mallikarjun Mutya of Mahal Roja Mutt has been challenged before the High Court of Karnataka in Kalaburagi.

The Mutya has approached the High Court seeking to get the FIR registered against him quashed. The matter will, probably, come up before a Bench on Monday, sources said.

The Gogi Police registered a case against him under the relevant sections of the POCSO Act and BNS after a video of the accused behaving improperly with a minor girl went viral.

Based on that, the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights sought necessary action after a thorough verification of the video.

Meanwhile, on Friday, police recorded the statement of the minor girl and enquired with her parents about the incident. They also served notice on the Mahal Roja Mutt asking the accused to appear before the investigating officer.

Mallikarjun Mutya’s followers and devotees held a meeting at the mutt in Mahal Roja and discussed further action.

“The commission hurriedly instructed the authorities to take action against Mallikarjun Mutya without verifying the video, and therefore, all community members and followers have urged it to withdraw the FIR registered against the Mutya within 48 hours. Otherwise, a protest will be organised at the office of the Deputy Commissioner’s and the Superintendent of Police,” the former Chairperson of Yadgir CMC Lalita Anpur told the media.

MLC Tippannappa Kamaknur and others in Kalaburagi have sought a detailed investigation to be conducted into the allegations to reveal the “forces” behind the conspiracy hatched against the Mutya. “It is an effort to bring a bad name to the Mutya,” they added.

Now, a man who is said to be a relative of the victim has released a video claiming that the video that went viral is an edited one and that there is no such misbehaviour by Mallikarjun Mutya with the girl.