Bengaluru, Nov. 27 -- A court in Karnataka's Chitradurga on Wednesday acquitted Shivamurthy Murugha Sharan, seer of the Murugha Mutt, in two Pocso cases filed against him on allegations of sexual harassment of minor girls staying in the hostel run by the mutt. Second Additional Sessions Court Judge Gangadharappa Hadapad held that the seer and two co-accused, Rashmi and Paramashivayya, were not guilty of the charges brought against them. The judge stated briefly that "the accused in the Pocso case are acquitted." A detailed judgement is awaited. Counsel for the seer, KB Swami, said the court had found the seer and two others innocent in the first case registered against him. The case was registered in August 2022 after two minors residing in the hostel alleged sexual abuse by five individuals, including the seer, a warden, a manager, and two others associated with the institution. The FIR was registered under relevants sections of the Pocso Act. Child-rights activists associated with Odanadi Seva Samsthe, which had supported the complainants, expressed concern about the verdict. "The investigators made many mistakes. Important documents were not submitted. A conspiracy case was filed against us simply because we questioned the lapses," activist ML Parashuram said. He added that he would comment further only after going through the full judgment....