Devotees of Kudali Mutt along with villagers of Kudali, at a press conference held at Shivamogga Press Trust on 2 October 2026, have told that the Police B Report submitted to Court reveals that the Golden Padukas belonging to the Mutt, which had been reported missing 2 years ago, were in a locker linked to Kudali Mutt’s own bank account. They also disclosed that the locker was being operated by the complainant, Sri Vidyabhinava Vidyaranya Bharathi Swami himself.
The details of the case provided by the devotees are as follows.
A complaint lodged at Holehonnur Police Station on 19 August 2024 by Ramesh Hulimani, manager of Kudali Mutt located at the confluence of Tungabhadra at Shivamogga, alleged that the Golden Padukas worth ₹70 Lakhs kept in the Mutt’s treasury had been stolen.
Subsequently, the Peethadhipati of Kudali Mutt, Sri Vidyabhinava Vidyaranya Bharati Swami, in a letter written to the SP and DIG on 28 August 2024, stated that Ramesh Hulimani had not lodged the complaint as instructed by him. Further, he alleged that the local police acting in collusion with Srinivasa Iyer, who worked at the Mutt, were attempting to portray the complainant (senior Swami of the Mutt) himself as an accused.
He also expressed suspicion regarding the junior Swami, Sri Abhinava Shankara Bharati Swami, and Srinivas Iyer of executing the theft.
Soon after, a campaign of misinformation was launched through newspapers and social media. The matter got widely reported in the media and shared over social media portraying the junior Swami along with Srinivas Iyer as suspects. The Kannada articles were translated and circulated in Tamil Nadu also. Consequently, many people made harsh and disparaging remarks about Kudali Mutt and the junior Swami.
Two years of investigation by the police showed that the Padukas were in a locker attached to a bank account of the Mutt. The B Report states that the Kudali Mutt’s bank account as well as all properties and financial transactions are being handled wholly and solely by the senior Swami himself. The information that the Padukas were in the locker had been concealed from the police while filing the complaint.
After completion of the investigation, the devotees are of the opinion that the motive behind filing a false complaint and the spreading of misinformation indulged in by the Peethadhipati, who held sole access to the bank account and locker, were done with malicious intent against his own successor.
The devotees further stated that the Senior Pontiff had earlier been caught indulging in illegally selling Mutt properties and using the money with personal purposes. Due to this the devotees pressurized him to appoint a successor and step aside in order to protect the sanctity of the ancient mutt.
Under the pressure of the devotees, he gave Sanyas Deeksha to a successor in May 2023, but did not abdicate his position as pontiff. Instead, he started filing multiple fabricated cases and using various image tarnishing tactics to evict the successor from the Mutt. Fortunately the B Report by the police has exposed this in public, the devotees concluded.
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