Karnataka Police started a preliminary investigation into a sanitary worker’s revelation that he was forced to burn and bury the bodies of rape victims ten years ago.
The individual is a former sanitation worker employed by the Dharmasthala temple administration in the Dakshina Kannada district.
In his written statement to the police, the man alleged that the accused were associated with the administration department of the temple.
The Dharamsthala police registered a case after getting permission from the court.
The sanitation worker’s identity has not been disclosed due to security reasons.
In his complaint, the sanitary worker confessed to the Dakshina Kannada police that he was forced to burn and bury the bodies of several women, including schoolgirls, by his superiors in the administration department.
People familiar with the case told Outlook that the person will hand over the body parts of a woman he exhumed to the police shortly.
The police are examining the person’s request to exhume the bodies of other victims buried or burned. Without divulging further details, police stated that the decision will be made after obtaining necessary legal advice.
The revelation came on 4th July when the person approached the police through advocates Ojaswi Gowda and Sachin Deshphande.
According to advocates, the person has also submitted photographs of the remains of the bodies he had buried. They said he exhumed the body of a woman buried by him, and pictures were handed over to the police.” Expressing confidence in the police investigation, the advocates refused to divulge their future course of action.
The complainant narrates chilling accounts of the crime committed between 1998 and 2024, when he was working as a sanitary worker at Dharmasthala
The person said he decided to reveal the details of the crime now because of mental agony and remorse. ‘Justice should be ensured for the victims, his statement read.
“I worked as a sanitary worker in the Dharmasthala from 1995 to December 2014, carrying out cleaning work around the Nethravathi River. At that time, I used to see many dead bodies, which I thought were the victims of suicide or accidental drowning in the river. The majority of the bodies were those of women and children. Later, my supervisor told me to dispose of these bodies secretly. When I refused, I was beaten brutally and warned that I would face severe consequences if I refused to carry out their directives,” the sanitary worker stated in his complaint.
According to the statement given to the police, it was the supervisor who took the person to several places where dead bodies were found. Then he narrates a chilling incident. “A girl between 12 and 15 years old wearing a school uniform was found dead near a petrol pump. Her body bore the unmistakable signs of sexual assault and strangulation. The body was covered with a newspaper. The supervisor asked me to collect her shoes and other belongings and burn them along with her body.
In his statement, the man revealed he was a witness to many murders of beggars and homeless men in the Dharmasthala area. But he did not mention the motive behind killing the destitutes.
The sanitary worker explains the reason for leaving Dharmasthala in his statement. In 2014, one of the minor girls in my family was assaulted by a person close to the supervisor. We decided to escape, and my family members and I ran away from Dharmasthala. Since then, we have been living in a neighbouring state.” He said he and his family have been frequently shifting houses, fearing attack from his former supervisor’s team.
He said he is ready to show the places where the dead bodies have been buried to the investigating officers and is prepared to cooperate with the police. The person said he will later disclose the names and roles of people involved in murder and rape. “I am not revealing the names of the accused in the complaint because of fear for life,” he added
For the investigation to proceed further, legal experts opine that the police must get a court order to exhume bodies. Since the complainant has mentioned that the accused are related to the administration department of the Dharmasthala temple, the police are treading cautiously.
