MANGALURU: DGP Pronab Mohanty, heading the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted to probe the alleged crimes in Dharmasthala village, questioned Sowjanya campaign activist Girish Mattannavar on Friday.
Mattannavar was summoned for questioning by the SIT in connection with a perjury case, in which the witness-complainant was arrested after the skull he produced as evidence before court was said to be a fabricated one. The complainant’s custody ends on Saturday. Sources said it is unlikely that SIT would seek his further custody. Meanwhile, questioning of Jayant, another activist, and YouTuber Abhishek has continued. Kerala-based YouTuber Manaf has also been issued notice by the SIT.
Meanwhile, Tejas A Gowda, a pro-Hindutva activist from Bengaluru, lodged a complaint with SIT in Belthangady on Friday, requesting investigation into the “activities, funding sources and network” of Mahesh Shetty Timarodi, Girish Mattannavar, Jayant T, YouTuber Sameer MD and others.
“A malicious conspiracy is being carried out by Mahesh Shetty and his associates for more than a decade, and their activities are directed at tarnishing the reputation of Shri Kshetra Dharmasthala and Dharmadhikari D Veerendra Heggade,” Gowda alleged in the complaint.
Police summons stayed
The High Court on Friday reportedly stayed police summons against advocate Manjunath N, who represented Sujatha Bhat, another complainant. An FIR was registered against advocate Manjunath by Belthangady police for a press release, in which he mentioned that there were about 60-70 bodies in 13 spots marked by the complainant.
Meanwhile, Kusumavathi, mother of late Sowjanya who was allegedly raped and murdered in 2012, lodged a complaint with Belthangady police against 13 social media accounts for misleading and defamatory posts against her and a few activists fighting the case. Now police have booked a case.