Religious leader held under POCSO charges

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Belagavi police arrested the head of a religious institution on charges of repeated rape on a minor girl.

Officers from Mudalagi police station arrested Hathayogi Lokeshwar Swami of Ram Mandir Mutt in Mekali village of Raibag taluk on Thursday (May 22, 2025).

The victim complained to the police that the swami kidnapped her and repeatedly raped her in lodges in Raichur and Bagalkot. He left her at the Mahalingpur bus stand and threatened to kill her in case she revealed the offence to anyone.

The victim is the daughter of a devotee. Her family took her to the Mutt as some family members believed their illness could be cured by the swami. The accused picked her up in the guise of giving her a lift when she was walking home from a relative’s house in a village.

The alleged offence was committed on May 13, 14 and 15. She took some time to complain to her father, who encouraged her to file a police complaint. Initially, a complaint was filed at a police station in the Bagalkot district. It was later transferred to Belagavi district, police said. Police have registered a case under some provisions of POCSO Act and BNS.

The accused hailed from a village in Kalaburagi district and had set up a Math after a local farmer donated some land, villagers told the police.

Following a tip-off from villagers, police raided the math and found some weapons like machetes and rods. Some villagers have told the police that the swami was involved in black magic and supported illegal betting practices like Matka.

SP Bheemashankar S Guled told reporters in Belagavi on Saturday that the accused was produced in court and sent to the Hindalaga prison after the court remanded him in judicial custody. Further investigation is underway.