MANGALURU: The whistleblower in the alleged rape, murder and burial of several women in Dharmasthala has put the state police in the dock by writing to the Chief Justice of India, pleading for his safety and charging the cops with leaking the statement he gave to the investigation officer. The whistleblower has sought an immediate high-level investigation into the alleged leak of his statement.
The copies of the three-page letter were also addressed to the Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Home Minister Dr. G Parameshwara, and the DG & IGP.
The letter alleges that details provided by the complainant in a confidential police statement on July 14 are now available on YouTube. In the YouTube video, an individual claims that the information was provided to him by police personnel involved in the case.
The letter alleges that either the investigating officer or someone with access to the whistleblower’s statement has leaked it. The letter says the leak has compromised the integrity of the investigation.
Despite the YouTube video being publicly available for over 11 hours, the police have, reportedly, taken no steps to investigate the internal breach. The police have also indicated the possibility of unilaterally withdrawing witness protection that was granted to the whistleblower.
“This contradictory conduct, leaking confidential information while threatening the very protections meant to encourage such disclosures, necessitates urgent action by both judicial and executive authorities,” the letter urges the CJI.
The letter says the whistleblower had informed the Investigating Officer that he would not disclose the burial locations in advance due to fears of evidence tampering.
Despite this, the IO continued to pressure him for that information. The whistleblower, however, insisted that he would reveal the site only by physically taking the police there.