There seems to be a pattern in all the cases and the responses of the state and the police, irrespective of the party in power. It gives rise to suspicion that for decades, the real culprits, who have weathered many such crises with political patronage, continue to socialise with power centers in Bengaluru and Delhi.
Published Aug 06, 2025 | 12:00 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 06, 2025 | 12:00 PM
The human skeletal remains were found at the sixth site identified by the whistleblower. (Screengrab)
Synopsis: There are no mysteries in the ‘Dharmasthala Files. When power shelters the accused, crime runs wild. To stop this, the cries of a college girl, Vedavalli, Padmalatha, Narayan, Yamuna, Ananya Bhat, and hundreds of possible unnamed victims must turn into a mass uprising.
The temple town of Dharmasthala in Karnataka is presided over by one of the most popular, revered, and feared deity, Manjunatha Swamy. The city is now in the national and international news for ungodly reasons.
The dramatic emergence of an ex-sanitary worker of the temple, and his confession about burying hundreds of bodies in and around the temple town at the behest of the powerful people, obliquely referring to the religious institution’s chief (name withheld due to a legal obligation), and his cohorts, has created ripples at the national level.
The whistleblower has reportedly shown 15 burial sites to the special investigation team constituted reluctantly by the Congress government in Karnataka. All of them are located around the bathing site along the River Netravathi, flowing a few kilometres from the temple. Some sites are deep in the forest.
The exhumation has started, and skeletal remains have been found at two burial sites identified by the whistleblower. Even though there is a great deal of zeal and rekindled hope about justice in other parts of the state, the local activists are not very hopeful.
There is a reason behind this lack of enthusiasm, which demands a little explanation on a relentless betrayal of governing institutions under dispensations of different ideologies and their patronage of the “powerful” of the temple.
Two years ago, the same temple town and the religious institution’s chief and his kin were at the centre of a similar issue. The nation had honoured the man in question with top honours, and a nomination to the parliament.
The chief and his cohorts have been under attack by the people’s movement, which accused them of orchestrating the murder and rape of a 17-year-old college girl. Interestingly, the ”movement” was also led by a section of Hindutva forces.
The girl was allegedly raped and murdered near the temple town on 9 October 2012. The girl was returning home from college when she went missing.
Finding a pattern in the events, the locals demanded the arrest and a probe into the roles of those related to the temple. The police arrested a vagabond, Santhosh Rao, the next day.
But the local people continued the agitation, accusing the investigation of being skewed. They said the arrest was to protect the powerful. The case was handed over to the CBI in 2013, when Siddaramaiah first became the chief minister. The CBI court acquitted Santosh Rao in 2023. Coincidentally, Siddaramaiah was the chief minister, his second term, when the man was freed.
The court also passed scathing remarks about the police probe and accused them of wilfully allowing the destruction of primary evidence. It had also recommended actions against the police and the medical officers involved.
This resulted in the revival of the movement seeking justice for the college girl in 2023-24, in a bigger way. The local press and locals narrated several stories to prove how this has been the standard modus operandi of the temple administration and the reason behind their guarded response to the present development.
The CID under the Congress government in the state or the CBI under the central government failed to provide justice for the college girl, and both justified the arrest of the wrong person. The present Home Minister, G. Parameshewara, refused to order a fresh probe to apprehend the real culprit(s).
Just a few months before the incident involving the girl. Narayan Sapale, a mahout of the temple, and his sister Yamuna were found murdered in the heart of the town, their faces smashed with stone.
People refused to believe that it was just coincidental that his family had a land dispute with the temple authorities. The suspicion was further strengthened by the local police’s extraordinary interest in giving the case a quiet burial.
This pattern could be seen in the 1986 missing and murder case of Padmalatha, whose father, Devanand, was the president of the Farmers’ organisation owing allegiance to the CPI(M). He stood for the local Panchayat election against the convention of a unanimous nomination facilitated by the temple authorities. Devanand lost by a few votes to the temple nominee.
A few months later, his 17-year-old daughter went missing in December 1986. Her mutilated body was found after 57 days. Like in the case of the college girl’s murder mentioned earlier, the police arrested an unrelated person without even an FIR.
Vedavalli, a lecturer in the temple-managed college, fought against the denial of the principal post by the management and procured it after a judicial intervention. She was burned alive in 1979, when her husband was out of town.
The husband was arrested for her death, but was let off later. The real culprit was never held.
Ananya Bhat, a medical student who visited the temple in 2004, went missing. Her mother, Sujatha Bhat, an employee with the CBO in Kolkata, came searching for her. The locals advised her to stop searching, while the police and the temple authorities reportedly threatened her.
Sujatha is back in Dharmasthala, after the former sanitation worker had gathered enough courage to blow the whistle. The mother wants the mortal remains of her daughter to give her a proper, ritualistic farewell.
There seems to be a pattern in all the cases and the responses of the state and the police, irrespective of the party in power. It gives rise to suspicion that for decades, the real culprits, who have weathered many such crises with political patronage, continue to socialise with power centers in Bengaluru and Delhi.
This only reaffirms the grim truth: the country’s constitutional democracy hasn’t significantly altered the core ethos of Manusmriti-based India. Verse 8.15 of Manusmriti says, Dharmo Raskhati Rakshitaha (Dharma protects those who protect it).
However, in the temple town, it seems, Dharmasthalo Rakshati Rakhistaha — Dharmasthala protects those who protect it — is the norm!
Related: Advocates appeal to Parliament
For those who are following the ‘Dharmasthala Files,’ there is no puzzle in the riddle. Because:
Recently, the civic worker, who had disappeared 10 years ago, resurfaced on his own. He claimed to be a witness and expressed willingness to lead the authorities to the burial sites. He even gave a voluntary statement in court. But instead of taking urgent action, the police and government dismissed his claims and tried to discredit him.
Before and after elections, the “gods” of Dharmasthala serve political interests, and in return, politicians safeguard the institution. Together, they bury the truth and celebrate lies. Both the BJP and Congress are equally complicit.
There are now whispers that a rival Hindutva faction is trying to seize control of this multi-thousand-crore institution. Even if that’s true, it doesn’t invalidate the long-standing allegations of injustice, illegal land grabs, rape, and murder—with bipartisan political protection.
Barring Latin America’s drug cartels, a few examples exist where criminal activity continues with such cross-party sponsorship.
The religious authority mentioned earlier inherited his position in the late 1960s, and has been in control ever since.
Under his leadership, the institution expanded its influence, reportedly using narratives of divine punishment. By entering into education, health, and self-help initiatives, Dharmasthala grew into a giant enterprise. Its microloan wing thrives on fear—borrowers believe failure to repay invites divine wrath.
The temple has even stepped in to resolve land disputes—often allegedly using coercion. Local media have documented cases where dissenters either died unnaturally or were found mysteriously cremated.
Political parties of all hues have nurtured and protected the temple to fulfill electoral, business, and political agendas.
The religious authority is a staunch RSS sympathiser. He has been a major supporter of the VHP’s Dharma Sansad since 1984. He has subtly endorsed the Sangh’s agenda—be it the Ram temple, beef bans, or anti-conversion laws.
BJP governments have repeatedly honored him with various awards, including one for his distinguished service of higher order, and a nomination to the parliament. Even now, the BJP defends Dharmasthala’s sanctity, claiming the allegations are part of a conspiracy.
The Congress was no different in honouring him. Even though a CBI court acquitted the the vagabond, Santosh Rao, in the rape and murder of the college girl, the Congress government did not act upon the ruling and order a reinvestigation into the case.
When protests were raging in 2023 and 2024, Siddaramaiah, DK Shivakumar, and Rahul Gandhi visited Dharmasthala, and sought blessings of the religious authority, and held closed-door meetings with him. Shivakumar even said that a thousand “Shivakumars like me are ready to protect” him.
Even after a key witness came forward on 4 July 2024 to show the burial sites, no urgency was shown. Instead of probing the accused, the police proposed a brain-mapping and a narco-analysis of the whistleblower.
When such clear signals from the highest echelons of the power structure are given, what can be expected of the police investigation, whether it is the CBI or the SIT?
There are no mysteries in the ‘Dharmasthala Files. When power shelters the accused, crime runs wild. To stop this, the cries of the college girl, Vedavalli, Padmalatha, Narayan, Yamuna, Ananya Bhat, and hundreds of possible unnamed victims must turn into a mass uprising.
Governments must bend—or be thrown out. These unconstitutional religious power centers must be dismantled, and a great democratic movement must reclaim people’s rights.
(Views expressed are those of the author. Edited by Majnu Babu).
