No SIT member sought to be excluded: Minister Parameshwara

Amid speculation that an IPS officer from the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Dharmasthala secret burials case requested removal from the team, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Monday dismissed such rumours as baseless.

Responding to a question about whether any SIT members had asked to be excluded due to personal reasons, Parameshwara said, “I am not aware of any such request. These are senior officers holding responsible positions.”

The SIT was constituted on Saturday under the leadership of Pronab Mohanty, Director General of Police, Internal Security Division. Other members include M.N. Anucheth (DIGP, Recruitment), and IPS officers Soumyalatha S.K. and Jitendra Kumar Dayama. The Home Minister clarified that none of the officers had approached the government or the Home Department expressing unwillingness to participate in the probe. “I don’t know why such reports are surfacing in the media,” he added.

The SIT was formed to investigate allegations made by a former sanitation worker who claimed to have buried dozens of unidentified bodies in Dharmasthala, Dakshina Kannada, between 1998 and 2014. Police officials said the complainant is willing to help locate the burial sites if his family is given protection.

Reacting to BJP leaders B.S. Yediyurappa and B.Y. Raghavendra questioning the need for an investigation, Parameshwara said, “Several individuals, including progressive thinkers and members of the local community, demanded a probe. A formal complaint was also filed.”

He added, “We need to establish whether these alleged crimes occurred. Prolonging the issue without investigation would not be appropriate in the eyes of the law. That’s why the government ordered a probe. What the investigation will reveal, we do not yet know.”