Dharmasthala 'mass burial': SIT intensifies probe; DGP joins investigation

The Special Investigation Team (SIT), set up by the Karnataka government to probe the allegations of "mass burials" in Dharmasthala, intensified its investigation, with consultation and inquiries on Sunday.

The man who had confessed to burying bodies in Dharmasthala appeared before the SIT for the second day for inquiry.

The SIT team was joined by its chief Pronab Mohanty -- Director General of Police (Internal Security Division) -- who oversaw on-ground assessments and reviewed progress with officers.


The team also held detailed discussions with local authorities, scrutinised records of missing persons, and revisited earlier reports of suspicious deaths in the region, officials said.

Investigators also interacted with residents in and around Dharmasthala and inspected specific sites believed to be associated with the allegations, they said.

The SIT was constituted by the state government following claims about alleged mass murder, rape, and burials in Dharmasthala, over the past two decades.

The SIT, headed by Mohanty, consists of Deputy Inspector General of Police (Recruitment) M N Anucheth and IPS officers Soumyalatha S K and Jitendra Kumar Dayama.

Twenty police personnel--inspectors, sub-inspectors, head constables and constables--from Udupi, Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada have also been deployed to the SIT.

A former sanitation worker, whose identity has not been revealed, has claimed that he worked in Dharmasthala between 1995 and 2014, and that he was forced to bury a number of bodies, including those of women and minors, in Dharmasthala.

He had alleged that some of the bodies showed signs of sexual assault. He has also given a statement before a magistrate in this regard.

Further field visits, including technical and forensic surveys, are expected in the coming days as the SIT continues its probe, said police sources.