Amid growing calls for a National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe into the Dharmasthala case, Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara on Thursday defended the state’s Special Investigation Team (SIT), saying the Centre must justify any move to take over the inquiry.
BENGALURU
Responding to demands from religious leaders and the Opposition for an NIA probe, Parameshwara maintained that the SIT was already investigating allegations of multiple murders and secret burials in Dharmasthala, Dakshina Kannada. “We formed an SIT to probe it. Now they are demanding that the matter be handed over to the NIA. Isn’t that also an investigation?” he asked.
He added that while aspects of foreign funding fall under the Centre’s jurisdiction, the state was fully capable of handling the criminal probe. “If there are any shortcomings in the investigation, it should be brought to our notice,” he said.
Asked if the state would cooperate with the NIA, Parameshwara said, “The NIA will have to justify why it wants to probe it. The state will have no option if they justify it.”
The minister also clarified that the SIT’s questioning of individuals, including Uday Jain, was based on intelligence inputs, but refused to share details until the probe is completed. On the 2012 Soujanya rape-murder case, he denied it was being “reinvestigated,” saying the SIT’s objective would become clear later.
Reacting to political rallies in Dharmasthala, Parameshwara accused the BJP of politicising the issue, adding that Congress workers marched only in response.