Dharmasthala case: SIT uses ground-penetrating radar to examine key burial site

‘Spot number 13’ has been flagged by the SIT as a key location in the ongoing investigation.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the alleged burial of bodies in Dharmasthala, located in Dakshina Kannada district, has begun a site inspection at a location marked as ‘spot number 13’ using ground-penetrating radar (GPR) technology.

The inspection is being supervised by SIT chief Pranab Mohanty.

According to news agency PTI, a high-capacity drone equipped with radar imaging is being used to scan the area for any underground objects. The radar system is capable of delivering live images of any sub-surface anomalies detected during the operation.

The inspection is being supervised by SIT chief Pranab Mohanty, who arrived in Mangaluru earlier in the day before heading to the SIT office in Belthangady, the report added.

Mohanty, along with SIT officers and the Assistant Commissioner, is expected to visit the site, accompanied by the complainant and their legal counsel.

‘Spot number 13’ has been flagged by the SIT as a key location in the ongoing investigation, and officials believe the radar imaging could yield significant leads in resolving the matter.

Meanwhile, another complaint was filed amid the mass burial probe. Thirty-eight years after the death of a pre-university student in Dharmasthala, her sister has now asked the SIT to reopen the case and exhume the remains to aid a fresh investigation.

Indravati, a resident of Nelyadi, appeared before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Monday, alleging that her sister had been abducted, sexually assaulted, and murdered. She stated that Padmalatha, daughter of the late Devananda, was a II PUC student at SDM College in Ujire when she went missing on December 22, 1986.

(With agency inputs)