The individual, identified as Jayant T, appeared before the SIT and submitted a complaint related to a case he had witnessed.
Published Aug 03, 2025 | 5:02 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 03, 2025 | 5:02 PM
The human skeletal remains were found at the sixth site identified by the whistleblower. (Screengrab)
Synopsis: A second complainant appeared before the Special Investigation Team probing the allegation of mass burials in Dharmasathala in Karnataka. He said he had witnessed the illegal disposal of a girl’s body around 15 years ago in Dharmasthala.
Following the complaint by a whistleblower who claimed that hundreds of bodies have been buried in Dharmasthala in the Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka, another complainant appeared before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the allegation and claimed he had witnessed the illegal burial of a teen girl.
The individual, identified as Jayant T, appeared before the Beltangady SIT office on Saturday, 2 August and submitted a complaint related to a case he had witnessed.
Speaking to the media, he said, “Around 15 years ago, a girl aged between 13 and 15 died under suspicious circumstances in Dharmasthala village. I saw the body, which was in a partially decomposed state. No postmortem was conducted.”
Meanwhile, India Today reported that a Right to Information (RTI) query revealed that Belthangady police deleted all entries from the Unnatural Death Register (UDR) between 2000 and 2015, a period that coincides with multiple allegations of unreported and suspicious deaths.
Jayant said the body in question was not disposed of legally.
“A week after I filed a complaint, the body was buried. It was not disposed of through legal means, and no FIR was registered. The murder was covered up,” he claimed.
“I do not know who committed the murder, but I will show the location where the body was buried to the SIT. I trust the SIT will carry out a thorough investigation,” Jayant said.
Jayanth stated that fear of repercussions had kept him silent all these years. However, the formation of the SIT and increased public scrutiny gave him the courage to speak out. He has also suffered a personal tragedy when his niece Padmalatha went missing, and he has hinted that more people may soon step forward.
“Five to six people are prepared to come forward. This is just the beginning,” he said. SIT officials have asked him to come on Monday with a detailed complaint.
The first complainant, a former sanitation worker at the Dharmasthala Manjunatha temple, had alleged a 20-year cover-up of sexual assaults and murders. He identified 15 possible burial sites.
The first eight locations were identified along the Nethravathi River. Locations 9 to 12 were beside the highway near the river. The 13th was on the road connecting Nethravathi to Aajukuri, and the remaining two, 14 and 15, were in the Kanyadi area near the highway.
The SIT have been conducting exhumation at the sites identified by the whistleblower. Partial human skeletal remains were found at the sixth burial site on Thursday.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
