Dharmasthala mass burial case: Skeleton found at 6th site, first concrete evidence emerges

Authorities confirmed the discovery and said the case continues to evolve. Further updates are awaited as forensic teams analyse the remains.

In a significant breakthrough in the Dharmasthala mass burial investigation, partial human skeletal remains have been recovered from a sixth suspected burial site. This marks the first location to yield tangible forensic evidence since the probe began. More details will emerge soon.

Partial skeletal remains found in spot 6 at Dharmasthala. Further details awaited.

The digging was part of a larger investigation based on allegations made by a former sanitation worker, who claimed he was forced to bury multiple bodies of sexual assault victims nearly a decade ago. His complaint, filed at the Dharmasthala police station on July 4, led to the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) on July 19.

SIT digs multiple sites

On Tuesday, the SIT dug nearly eight feet deep and 15 feet wide at a location identified by the complainant. Though several previous sites yielded no skeletal remains, this sixth spot proved to be a breakthrough.

Earlier, advocate N Manjunath, who represents Sujatha Bhat, the mother of missing medical student Ananya Bhat, issued a statement acknowledging the SIT’s progress. He highlighted that among the recovered items were one PAN card and two ATM cards, one bearing a male name and the other the name ‘Lakshmi’, which could potentially lead to more information.

Manjunath also revealed that the complainant has identified another critical site, believed to contain the largest number of alleged burials. However, this location lies outside the 13 currently targeted spots and is expected to be excavated in a later phase.

The investigation remains ongoing, with forensic teams expected to examine the skeletal remains to determine identity, cause of death, and possible links to the list of missing persons in the region which is located in Karnataka.