More Trouble for Tainted Guru Despite Cow Gimmicks

Tainted havyaka guru Raghaveshwara Bharathi of Ramachandrapura Mutt has been trying to regain followers by various tactics. He was in news recently through a movement for the protection of cows, especially the indigenous variety.

However, many observers say that his gimmicks are not helping him escape the law in serious rape cases he’s facing. Recently he suffered a major setback when the blackmail case filed by the mutt’s devotees was dismissed by the police as baseless and lacking any proof.

In 2014, Raghaveshwara Bharathi was accused of multiple accounts of rape by a famous artiste who used to be part of Ramkatha events organised by the mutt. Just before the rape complaint was filed, Raghveshwara’s team had tried to intimidate the artiste by filing a case of blackmail against her husband and even managed to get the couple arrested without bail for almost a month, under suspicious circumstances.

A second case of rape had been filed by a 25-year-old havyaka woman in 2015, who alleged that the guru sexually abused her between 2006 and 2012, when she was still in school. In her complaint, the woman said she didn’t have the courage to complain earlier as Raghaveshwara had threatened her of dire consequences if she told anybody about it. For unknown reasons, the second case has not seen any progress after initial reports of the case which was filed with the help of a women’s organization in Bengaluru.

Raghaveshwara Bharathi

Raghaveshwara’s supporters have accused almost every agency involved in the case of conspiring against their guru. They accused the CID for finding evidence of the crime, the police for filing a charge sheet, and even the Chief Justice of High Court, in what appeared to be a pre-emptive strike of sorts. Initially 5 judges had recused from the case which is in High Court now after the sessions court dismissed rape allegations despite admitting that there was enough evidence to prove that the accused had sexual intercourse with the complainant. 

Raising several eyebrows, the lower court verdict strangely mentioned that the sexual acts were consensual, despite the complainant clearly stating she was coerced and threatened by the powerful seer who wields a lot of influence in the community.

- Karnataka Express Bureau.