The Karnataka Government will wait for an initial investigation report by the state police on a former sweeper's allegations of conducting covert burials of dozens of dead bodies in the Dharmasthala area, before making a decision on forming a Special Investigation Team (SIT) for a thorough probe, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has said.
The announcement is in the backdrop of mounting pressure to establish an SIT to investigate in Dharmasthala, a religious town where the highly revered Sree Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara temple is situated. The temple is administered by Jain dharmadhikari and a Bharatiya Janata Party-nominated Rajya Sabha MP Veerendra Heggade.
"Will not yield to pressure, will act as per law, regardless of the people's demands, including those of retired judges… If an SIT has to be formed, it will be formed," said Siddaramaiah.
Laying the onus on police at the same time, the chief minister added, "A decision has not been made on forming an SIT. The police department will give a report and a decision will be made based on the report." This individual (who asserts to have carried out the secret burials) who was missing for 10 years, has made a voluntary statement before the court under section 164 (of the Criminal Procedure Code). He has declared that he would identify the places of the burials.
Siddaramaiah made the statement a day after lawyers' delegation had met him demanding a thorough investigation into secret burials. V Gopala Gowda, a retired judge of the Supreme Court, also demanded an SIT inquiry in a press conference this week.
Also read: Demand for SIT strengthens in Dharmasthala burial case
The delegation of lawyers informed the chief minister that three weeks have passed since the police complaint was filed after the disclosures but the police are still to make progress in the inquiry. "An inference can be drawn on the level of influence applied on the investigation," Gowda added.
According to the erstwhile sanitation worker, he had been burying dozens of unknown dead in Dakshina Kannada district's Dharmasthala between 1998 and 2014. A First Information Report (FIR) was lodged in the police station at Dharmasthala on July 4 under section 211(a) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita that placed the burden on the complainant to provide all the details about the allegations. He visited a magistrate's court in Belthangady on July 11 to make a statement to support the charges in the FIR.
According to a statement issued by the Dakshina Kannada police, the complainant confessed that he had "disposed of several bodies, and is suffering from guilty consciousness", and agreed to find the burial sites if his family and he are given protection.
The victim complained that he had seen some murders carried out in a "cruel manner" and was compelled to bury the bodies. According to the ongoing complaint, the man escaped to an adjoining state following 2014, fearing danger to himself and his kin. He has sought police protection, exhumation of bodies, and an inquiry into the suspected deaths, alleging that "powerful people" orchestrated it.
He also complained that a girl in his family was sexually harassed in a local school in Dharmasthala by one of the Physical Education teachers, and his whole family had to leave the place.
Following the previous sanitation worker giving his evidence in front of the court, a 60-year-old woman has appeared in order to file a complaint alleging that her daughter, a medical student, went missing in 2003 in Dharmasthala, and wanted to find out where her body lies.
"The investigating officers have filed a report with the court seeking permission to conduct brain mapping, lie detector, and narco analysis tests, if the witness (whistleblower) is willing," Dakshina Kannada police said this week.
"At whichever stage of investigation, the investigating officer finds that exhumation is necessary, the exhumation procedure will be carried out following the due legal procedure," it added.
Follow us
