MANGALURU: The Karnataka government has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe into allegations of sexual assault and the alleged murders of several women in Dharmasthala, Dakshina Kannada district.
An official order stated that the SIT will be led by ADGP Dr Pranav Mohanthi and will include IPS officers M.S. Anucheth, Somyalata and Jitendra Kumar Dayama. In addition to the whistleblower’s case filed in Dharmasthala, the team will investigate all related cases lodged at various police stations across the state.
The move comes following growing demands from multiple quarters, including the State Women’s Commission, to hand over the investigation to an SIT given the gravity of the allegations.
A few weeks ago, a former sanitation worker with a temple had lodged a complaint at the Dharmasthala police station, stating that he had allegedly buried and burnt hundreds of bodies of women who were subjected to sexual assault over a period of more than a decade. He had also exhumed one of the bodies and handed it over to the police.
Adding to the case’s complexity, a woman from Bengaluru recently filed a complaint stating that her daughter, an MBBS student in Manipal, had gone missing after visiting Dharmasthala Temple in 2003.
The case took a dramatic turn when the police and the whistleblower’s legal representatives made contradictory statements. While the police claimed that the whistleblower’s whereabouts were unknown, his legal team alleged that he was very much available and accused the police of being tardy in the investigation.
They also wrote to the Chief Justice of India, alleging that the whistleblower’s statement to the police had been leaked, thereby affecting the sanctity of the investigation.
Several prominent figures, including a former Supreme Court judge, had demanded an SIT probe into the alleged murders. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Home Minister G. Parmeshwara had earlier stated that they would not transfer the case to the SIT merely due to public pressure.
A Member of Parliament from Kerala had written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah requesting that the investigation be handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).