Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Tuesday said that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) will soon begin to probe allegations of mass burials in Dharmasthala in the Dakshina Kannada district.
The statement comes one day after the Bengaluru court issued a restraining order against multiple media houses and YouTube channels, stopping them from sharing defamatory content against Harshendra Kumar D, brother of Dharmasthala Dharmadhikari Veerendra Heggade, in connection with the alleged burial of bodies at Dharmasthala.
The move follows a letter from Karnataka State Women’s Commission Chairperson Nagalakshmi Choudhary, who referred to a court statement by an individual alleging that "hundreds of bodies were buried in the Dharmasthala area." The Commission also expressed deep concern over media reports about the discovery of a human skull and remarks from the family of a missing medical student, PTI reported.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah posted on X, "The special investigation team will thoroughly investigate all criminal cases registered at the Dharmasthala police station, as well as those registered or to be registered at other police stations in the state related to this matter, and submit a report."
The legal actions were taken after a former sanitation worker at the Dharmashtala temple, located in Karnataka’s Dakshina Kannada district, claimed that he was forced to bury, burn and dispose “hundreds” of bodies, many of whom were of young girls, and showed signs of torture and sexual assault. The worker, whose identity has not been revealed, claimed to work in Dharmasthala between 1995 and 2014.
The Monday court order follows a defamation suit filed by the Secretary of Sri Manjunathaswamy Temple. It has barred media houses from sharing defamatory content against Kumar D. However, the former sanitation worker has not mentioned Kumar or his family.
"...when an allegation is made against the institution, and temple, it affects a wider range of people including the employees and students who are studying in various colleges and schools. Therefore, even a single false and defamatory publication would seriously affect the functioning of the institutions," the order stated.
According to PTI, Kumar had mentioned a list of 8,842 defamatory links, incorporating YouTube videos, Facebook and Instagram posts, news articles and social media posts.
The court mentioned that there needs to be a balance of free speech with protection from defamation.
The SIT was formed on July 20 for the investigation headed by Pronab Mohanty, Director General of Police, Deputy Inspector General of Police M N Anucheth and IPS officers Soumyalatha S K and Jitendra Kumar Dayama.
"We have already given them (SIT) instructions to go there (Dharmasthala) immediately. Based on the records available at the police station, they will begin (the investigation). Instructions have gone to the local police too from the DG to give the related records and documents to the SIT.
"Mohanty (SIT chief) and his team will probably go there in a couple of days and will begin their work," Parameshwara said.
Karnataka State Women’s Commission stated that these reports of the sanitation worker—alongside the court testimony—point to a "disturbing pattern of abuse, unnatural deaths, and disappearances of women and female students spanning more than 20 years." A case has already been registered under Section 211(a) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at the Dharmasthala Police Station, PTI reported.
K Parshwanath Jain, spokesperson for 'Shri Kshetra Dharmasthala', the temple administration, said that the body supports the SIT probe into the matter. "It is our sincere hope and earnest demand that the SIT conducts the highest level of investigation and brings the true facts to light," he stated in the first official statement from 'Shri Kshetra Dharmasthala', as per PTI.
“A case was recently registered at the Dharmasthala police station, alleging that multiple dead bodies were buried within temple premises. This has triggered widespread public debate and confusion across the country,” said Jain. “In light of public demand for accountability, we understand that the state government has handed over the case to a Special Investigation Team,” The News Minute quoted him.
He added, “Truth and belief form the foundation of a society’s ethics and values. We sincerely hope and strongly urge the SIT to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation and br ing the true facts to light.”
