Dharmasthala secret burials: women's panel writes to CM Siddaramaiah, whistleblower's advocates seek SIT probe led by ADGP Mohanty

Indian Express

15-07-2025

Following claims of murders and secret burials that allegedly took place for over two decades in the temple town of Dharmasthala in Dakshina Kannada district, the Karnataka State Commission for Women has written to the state government seeking an impartial investigation into the allegations.
The advocates of the whistleblower, whose police complaint brought to light the alleged murders and secret burials of sexual assault victims, have also written an open letter calling for the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under ADGP Pronab Mohanty to 'unearth the truth and deliver justice in this profoundly disturbing case'.
In a letter dated July 14, the commission's chairperson, Dr Nagalakshmi Choudhary, noted that the whistleblower had recorded a court statement that he had buried 'hundreds of bodies'. The commission has taken note of reports about the claims and a statement made by the family of a medical student who had gone missing at Dharmasthala.
'There are also allegations that police officials did not respond properly when families of victims went to file complaints about their missing children, or deaths. Therefore, a SIT should be formed under a senior IPS officer to investigate cases of missing women and students, unnatural death/murder cases and rape cases that took place around Dharmasthala in the last 20 years,' she said in a letter to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
The letter came days after the whistleblower recorded a statement at the jurisdictional court at Belthangady in the district. Earlier, he had filed a complaint with the police alleging that he was forced to bury several bodies that were found half-naked and had signs of sexual assault and rape near Dharmasthala.
The whistleblower, who is a former sanitation worker employed at the temple town, has alleged that he was forced to bury several bodies from 1998 to 2014 and was threatened against approaching the police. He had claimed that the crimes might have been committed by those involved in the administration of the temple at Dharmasthala.
On Tuesday, the advocates of the whistleblower–Ojaswi Gowda and Sachin Deshpande–issued an open letter stating that there was a 'widespread public demand' for an SIT to be formed immediately. 'However, the experience of the SIT constituted in 2012 for the Sowjanya case, which concluded in a disaster and deep public dissatisfaction, continues to unsettle this region to this day. This past dissatisfaction continues to unsettle this region to this day. This past experience, far from diminishing the need for an SIT, underscores the critical importance of getting it right this time,' they said.
Referring to a recent judgment of the Karnataka High Court on a writ petition in an unrelated case, the advocates said the court had explicitly directed the formation of an SIT to be headed by senior IPS officer Pronab Mohanty for a complex investigation.
'A very large number of legal professionals have, therefore, strongly urged us to insist that Mr. Pranab Mohanty be appointed to lead the SIT in the Dharmasthala mass burials case. Furthermore, it is their collective insistence that the Investigating Officers (IOs) and other supervising personnel appointed to this SIT must also be individuals of unimpeachable integrity, and critically, that their appointments be recommended by Mr.Mohanty. To ensure transparency and accountability, there must be a publicly available paper trail demonstrating that the selection process for these key roles strictly followed this integrity protocol,' they said in the letter.