Calling for strong action, Mysuru-based RTI activist Snehamayi Krishna urged the police to register a case against Sujatha Bhatt, as well as others who had reportedly repeated her claims.
Published Aug 21, 2025 | 6:16 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 21, 2025 | 6:16 PM
Ex-worker alleged murders, rapes, and secret burials tied to Dharmasthala Temple administration.
Synopsis: Mysuru-based RTI activist Snehamayi Krishna has lodged a complaint at the Dharmasthala police station against Sujatha Bhatt, accusing her of spreading false propaganda, filing false complaints, and creating fear over the alleged Dharmasthala mass burial case. The activist has demanded immediate arrests of Bhatt and those repeating her claims, including Youtuber MD Sameer, citing recent reports casting doubts on Bhatt’s original claims.
The Dharmasthala mass burial case has taken a new turn with Mysuru-based RTI activist Snehamayi Krishna filing a formal complaint against Sujatha Bhatt and several others at the Dharmasthala police station for spreading “lies, making false accusations, filing false complaints, creating confusion and fear among the people of the state.” Krishna had previously filed a complaint against CM Siddaramaiah and his family over MUDA land misuse.
Bhatt, following the original allegations by a Dalit whistleblower of alleged mass burials of hundreds of victims of sexual assault and murder in the temple town of Dharmasthala in Karnataka’s Dakshina Kannada, had approached the police with a complaint on 15 July.
She alleged that her daughter, a medical student, had gone missing in 2003 while visiting the Dharmasthala Manjunatha Temple.
In his complaint dated 21 August and filed at the Dharmasthala police station, Krishna, referring to recent media reports that cast doubt on Sujatha Bhatt’s claims, accused her of spreading “false propaganda against the religious institution, insulting it, and thereby hurting the faith and respect of lakhs of people.”
Calling for strong action, the activist urged the police to register a case against Sujatha Bhatt, as well as others who had reportedly repeated her claims, including Girish Mattannanavar, Mahesh Shetty Timmarodi, MD Sameer and others.
YouTuber Sameer MD had earlier been booked on the charge of spreading false information through a video he made, purportedly using artificial intelligence, about the Dharmasthala case. According to information in the FIR, the video was generated using artificial intelligence and included fabricated details about the burial case.
The video also allegedly went beyond the information provided in the official complaint of the whistleblower and during the court proceedings, where the complainant recorded his statement.
“They have created shock, confusion, and fear among the people of the state, deceived the public, and insulted not just Dharmasthala and the Dharmadhikari’s family, but also the people and the system of the entire state,” Krishan’s complaint reads.
He demanded that they be arrested immediately, adding that “such stern legal action should send a warning message that those who make false allegations and disturb the peace of society will be punished.”
The Special Investigation Team (SIT), which has been probing the matter, recently raised doubts about the very existence of Sujatha’s daughter, Ananya Bhatt, whose alleged disappearance formed the basis of the sensational charges.
Investigators pressed Sujatha to produce a photograph of her missing daughter.
When she released one, suspicions deepened as inquiries indicated that Sujatha, who had lived in Ripponpete, Shivamogga, with one Prabhakar Baliga, never had children.
