Dharmasthala case: Witness leads police to alleged burial site

Mangaluru

In a significant turn of events in the Dharmasthala mass burial case, Special Investigation Team (SIT) officials escorted the key complainant-witness to a suspected burial site close to the Netravathi riverbank, under strict security arrangements.

The witness, covering his face and accompanied by his legal counsel, first appeared at the SIT camp office in Belthangady around 11:30 AM. After preliminary questioning by officers including Jitendra Kumar Dayama and DIG M. N. Anucheth, he was taken to the forested riverbank area where he identified multiple spots linked to his allegation that he had been forced to bury bodies between 1995 and 2014.

Present at the site were forensic experts, land and forest department officials, and revenue record personnel, who documented the identified locations through spot verification (mahāzar). Movement around the area has been restricted by authorities to preserve the integrity of the evidence in anticipation of possible exhumation operations.

This marks a critical phase in the investigation, which began with a police FIR filed on July 4 and accelerated with the formation of the SIT on July 19. The complainant had also submitted skeletal remains to support his claims, and he has since been granted protection under India’s Witness Protection Scheme.

The case stems from allegations made by a former sanitation worker who claims he was coerced by influential individuals into burying bodies of rape and murder victims across Dharmasthala village and adjacent areas. Public outrage and demands from activists have propelled the state government to move forward with a thorough investigation by the SIT, led by DGP Pronab Mohanty.