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Karnataka govt sets up SIT to probe Dharmasthala mass grave allegations
Reports and statements show 20+ years of assault, murder, rape, and disappearances involving women and female students: Karnataka state commission for women
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the alleged mass graves, disappearances, and crimes against women and students in Dharmasthala over the past two decades.
A government order issued on Saturday said that it found it “appropriate to form a special investigation team” to probe the crime registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at the Dharmasthala Police Station and “all other criminal cases registered/to be registered in other police stations across the state of Karnataka in connection with it.”
State Commission for Women had urged chief minister Siddaramaiah to form a SIT, headed by senior police officers, “for a comprehensive and impartial investigation into cases of missing women and female students, unnatural death murder cases, and rape cases in the Dharmasthala area over the last 20 years.”
In a letter dated July 14, the commission cited media reports from July 12, which included the statement of a family whose daughter went missing and a court deposition by a daily-wage labourer, who claimed that he had personally buried more than 100 bodies in and around Dharmasthala.
The state police had previously registered a case and announced plans to exhume remains near the Nethravathi River based on the witness’s claims. His identity has been withheld due to security concerns.
Also Read: SIT will be set up if necessary based on police report on Dharmasthala case, says CM
The SIT, headed by director general of police (internal security division) Pranav Mohanty, will include deputy inspector general of police (recruitment) M.N. Anucheth; deputy commissioner of police of City Armed Reserve (CAR) headquarters Soumyalatha; and superintendent of police (internal security division) Jitendra Kumar Dayama.
“The aforementioned case, and all other criminal cases registered to be registered in other police stations across the state of Karnataka in connection with it, shall be transferred to the special investigation team,” the government order said.
Also Read: Dharmasthala case: Woman files fresh complaint seeking remains of daughter who went missing in 2003
The order added that the SIT will operate out of the Dakshina Kannada district police office and will be provided with the necessary officers and staff. The SIT has been instructed to regularly report the progress of its investigation to the director general and inspector general of police, and to “submit the investigation report to the government expeditiously.”
Meanwhile, lawyers representing the whistleblower in the Dharmasthala mass grave case on Thursday handed over a memorandum to CM Siddaramaiah, raising serious concerns about police collusion, information leaks, and pressure tactics allegedly being deployed to derail the investigation.
