Melukote: The Pandavapura Judicial Magistrate First Class (Junior Division) Court has ordered investigation against the Chief Priest of Melukote Yoganarasimhaswamy Temple Narayana Bhatta for allegedly possessing and viewing pornography clippings. He was accused of downloading various porn apps on his mobile phone and the Court has, on Jan. 29, ordered a probe.

An FIR (09/2018) has been filed in this regard on Jan. 31 by the Pandavapura Sub-Police Station and the Court has asked the Police to submit an investigation report.

Apart from possessing and viewing porn material, Narayana Bhatta was accused of preventing Prof. Bhashyam Swamiji, the government-appointed priest to perform pujas at the temple. Bhatta was accused of insulting and using expletives and unparliamentary words at Prof. Bhashyam Swamiji when he came to the temple in December last year.

It may be recalled that Bhashyam Swamiji, based on the Government Order, had visited the temple in Melukote to report to his duty on Dec. 11. But priest Narayana Bhatta did not allow him to offer puja to the deity which had resulted in wordy duel between the two.

Later, the Police registered an FIR against Prof. Bhashyam Swamiji and his brothers Sheshadri and Srinivasan following a complaint by Narayana Bhatta, who accused the trio for trespassing into the temple, abusing, threatening and snatching away his mobile phone.

Bhashyam Swamiji and his brothers have been booked under IPC Sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 384 (extortion) r/w 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention).

Bhashyam Swamiji, who was appointed by the Department of Muzarai and Religious Endowment as a substitute priest to conduct puja rituals at the Temple in the absence of the regular priest Narayana Bhatta, had earlier complained to Mandya Deputy Commissioner C. Manjushree and had said that Narayana Bhatta had pornography apps on his mobile phone.

Later as per the DC’s instructions Bhashyam Swamiji visited Mandya SP with his complaint while the SP asked him to approach the Pandavapura Police Station to file his complaint. The Police, who received the complaint, had recovered Bhatta’s mobile but they had not registered a case against  Bhatta.

Sheshadri later knocked the doors of Pandavapura Judicial Magistrate First Class (Junior Division) Court which ordered the Police to seize Bhatta’s mobile phone and submit a report. The Court ordered the Police to book Bhatta under IPC Sections 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation), 292 (sale and possession of obscene material) and Information Technology (IT) Act under Column 67-68(A) (punishment for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form).