Dharmasthala rape-murders: Karnataka police examining steps to exhume bodies

A former sanitation worker at the Dharmasthala temple had alleged that he was forced to bury the bodies of several women and minors who were raped and murdered between 1998 and 2014

Bengaluru: The Dakshina Kannada police in Karnataka are exploring the process to exhume human remains near the Nethravathi river after a former sanitation worker at the Dharmasthala temple alleged that he was forced to bury the bodies of several women and minors who were raped and murdered between 1998 and 2014.

The Karnataka police said they have secured court permission to proceed with the case. (Representational image)

District superintendent of police K Arun said that a first information report( FIR) has been registered at the Dharmasthala police station under Section 211(A) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. “Based on the complaint filed by a person, we have registered a case. We have launched an investigation and are collecting more evidence. We have also taken steps to exhume the bodies. I am not sure when this process will take place, but we are on our way to do it,” he told HT.

The complainant, a Dalit man who worked as a sanitation worker at the temple until 2014, has approached the police through his lawyers, alleging he was coerced by supervisors into secretly disposing of bodies of girls and women, some of whom he says were minors in school uniforms. The man has not named individuals in the complaint, citing threats to his life, but has indicated he would reveal names after receiving formal protection.

“I buried these bodies near the Nethravathi River. Some victims were minor girls in school uniforms. One girl aged between 12 to 15 was strangled and buried with her school bag. Another young woman’s face was burned with acid before I was forced to cremate her remains secretly,” the man said in his complaint.

According to the application filed under the Witness Protection Scheme, the man has requested immediate safety for himself and his family, saying, “I am ready to disclose the full details of all the accused persons, including the names and their specific roles, as soon as I and my family are granted protection under the Witness Protection Act 2018. I am filing this complaint with full knowledge of the consequences of submitting false information. I confirm that the above is true to the best of my knowledge and belief.”

The complaint was submitted on July 3 by Bengaluru-based lawyers Ojaswi Gowda and Sachin Deshpande. An FIR was registered the following day. The lawyers said they were satisfied with the police action so far. “The man is facing threats, hence his identity has been kept confidential. We are satisfied that the police have registered an FIR and taken the first steps,” advocate Gowda told HT.

Photographic evidence of what the complainant says is one of the burial sites, has been submitted to police, and he has offered to assist the investigation by identifying locations. He has also expressed willingness to undergo scientific tests such as a polygraph.

The police have secured court permission to proceed with the case, and the complaint is being handled under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita’s provisions. The process of exhumation is being planned as part of the next phase of the investigation.

Meanwhile, authorities are considering the complainant’s request for protection under the Witness Protection Scheme, which mandates that a district-level committee, comprising the Principal District and Sessions Judge, the jurisdictional police chief, and the head of prosecution, assess the threat and recommend security measures. The committee may approve steps ranging from police escorts and in-camera court proceedings to relocation or change of identity, depending on the outcome of a Threat Analysis Report to be submitted by police.

The complainant claims he fled Dharmasthala in 2014, relocating with his family to a neighbouring state after years of silent compliance under threat. His decision to come forward now, he says, stems from guilt and a need to seek justice for the unnamed victims.