The order emphasises the state government's commitment to uncovering the truth and delivering justice to the victims and their families.
Published Jul 20, 2025 | 1:44 PM ⚊ Updated Jul 20, 2025 | 1:52 PM
Ex-worker alleged murders, rapes, and secret burials tied to Dharmasthala Temple administration.
Synopsis: The Karnataka government has ordered the formation of a Special Investigation Team to probe the alleged mass burials at Dharmasthala. This move follows allegations made by a Dalit man, a former sanitation worker at the temple, who claimed there has been a 20-year cover-up of murders and sexual assaults.
The Karnataka government on Saturday, 19 July, ordered the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the alleged mass burials in Dharmasthala in the Dakshina Kannada district.
This move follows a letter from the Chairperson of the Karnataka State Women’s Commission after a Dalit man — formerly employed as a sanitation worker at the temple — alleged a 20-year cover-up of murders and sexual assaults.
Director General of Police (DGP) Pronab Mohanty has been appointed to lead the team. He will be assisted by Deputy Inspector General (DIG) MN Anucheth, Deputy Commissioner of Police Soumyalatha SK and Superintendent of Police (SP) Jitendra Kumar Dayama.
The order emphasises the state government’s commitment to uncovering the truth and delivering justice to the victims and their families. It also took note of the disappearance of a medical student in 2003 and the recent discovery of a human skull.
On Tuesday, a Bengaluru woman whose daughter went missing in the Dharmasthala temple in 2003 formally filed a complaint before the Dakshina Kannada SP.
The complainant, Sujatha Bhat, made serious allegations in her complaint. She claimed that locals told her they had witnessed temple staff taking away a young woman matching the description of her daughter, Ananya Bhat.
She further alleged that when she confronted the temple authorities, she was threatened, assaulted and beaten on the head into a coma. She added that she remained silent all these years out of fear for her life.
“Reports by media outlets on 12-07-2025 covered the discovery of a human skull and the statements of the family of a missing medical student, which the Commission has taken seriously. Both the media reports and the testimony about the burial of bodies indicate incidents over the past 20 years involving serious crimes such as atrocities, murders, rapes, unnatural deaths, and disappearances targeting multiple women and students,” the order said.
“Therefore, the Commission has requested the formation of a Special Investigation Team comprising senior police officers to ensure a comprehensive and impartial investigation into the cases of missing women and students, unnatural deaths/murders, and rape cases in the Dharmasthala area over the last 20 years,” it added.
It said all current and future cases linked to Dharmasthala, lodged at various police stations across Karnataka, will be transferred to the SIT and that the DGP and Inspector General would ensure the SIT receives necessary support and resources.
The team has been directed to utilise facilities at the Dakshina Kannada District Police Office. The SIT has also been asked to submit progress reports to the government.
“The SIT has been directed to carry out a comprehensive and impartial investigation, with a final report to be submitted to the state government at the earliest,” the order said.
In a detailed complaint addressed to the Dakshina Kannada Police Commissioner on 3 July, the survivor, who has requested anonymity, alleged that between 1995 and 2014, he was forced under death threats to dispose of hundreds of bodies, many showing signs of sexual violence and brutal murders. He accused individuals linked to the Dharmasthala administration of systematically disposing of bodies.
Dakshina Kannada police have registered an FIR (Crime Number 39/2025) under Section 211(a) of the BNS, after obtaining court permission.
One of the lawyers in his legal team urged Kerala to pass a resolution in its legislative Assembly, demanding an investigation to the highest standards of honesty, integrity and competence.
The resolution, he said, should also demand to include the Kerala police in the probe, for which the Kerala government must move the Supreme Court.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
