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Dharmasthala case: Woman files fresh complaint seeking remains of daughter who went missing in 2003
This comes amid the ongoing investigation into alleged mass graves, disappearances, and crimes against women and students in Dharmasthala over the past two decades.
A fresh complaint was filed on Tuesday by a woman seeking help in tracing her daughter’s skeletal remains, who went missing in 2003 near Dharmasthala, police said. This comes amid the ongoing investigation into alleged mass graves, disappearances, and crimes against women and students in Dharmasthala over the past two decades.
Ananya Bhat, an 18-year-old first-year MBBS student, was reported missing in May 2003 while she was on a trip to Dharmasthala with a group of friends. According to the complaint filed on Tuesday, the group had gone for shopping while Bhat stayed back as she wanted to visit the temples. However, when the friends returned they could not find her.
“Ananya’s friends called me and informed me that my daughter was missing. I was in Kolkata at the time and it took me two days to reach there,” said her mother Sujatha Bhat, a former stenographer with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) who had served in its Investigation Department for nine years before retiring.
She alleged that when she attempted to file a missing person’s complaint at Belthangady police station, she was turned away without explanation. “While I was waiting near the temple premises, four unknown men allegedly abducted her and issued a chilling warning. They locked me in a room with my hands and legs tied and told me not to return and not to reveal anything. They said if I spoke out, I would meet the same fate as my daughter,” she told reporters.
She further said that she had slipped into a coma as she was assaulted by those men and was hospitalised at a private facility in Bengaluru’s Wilson Garden. “After I recovered from coma in June 2003, I tried to follow up on the case but nothing moved forward,” she said.
Now, with the beginning of a probe into the mass graves, disappearances, and crimes against women and students in Dharmasthala over the past two decades, she hopes the investigation will finally bring closure. “I have filed complaint to trace the skeletal remains so that I can perform her last rites,” she said.
This comes in the wake of a court deposition by a daily-wage labourer, who under tight security on Friday claimed that he had personally buried more than 100 bodies in and around Dharmasthala. His identity has been withheld due to security concerns.
State Commission for Women chairperson Nagalakshmi Chowdhury on Monday urged chief minister Siddaramaiah to form a special investigation team (SIT) to probe into the matter.
The daily-wage labourer had first approached Dharmasthala police with a complaint on July 4. On July 10, he was granted protection under the Witness Protection Scheme, 2018. He appeared before the principal civil judge and judicial magistrate in Belthangady around 4.40 pm on Friday, wearing a mask and escorted by his legal team.
