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SIT will be set up if necessary based on police report on Dharmasthala case, says CM
Chief minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said the government would take appropriate action in regard to the allegations of mass burials and sexual assaults in Dharmasthala, including the possible formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT), based on the findings of the police department
Chief minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said the government would take appropriate action in regard to the allegations of mass burials and sexual assaults in Dharmasthala, including the possible formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT), based on the findings of the police department.
“If SIT is necessary, it will be constituted. It will be based on the police department’s report. The individual was absconding for 10 years; he has now made a statement before the police and has said whatever he has to. He has said that he is the one who has buried the dead bodies and that he will show the spot where they are buried. Let’s see what the police say in a couple of days,” the chief minister said, referring to the key anonymous witness whose claims sparked the controversy.
The chief minister maintained that his administration was not under any external pressure. “Even if the pressure is put, we will not heed to anything, we will do things in accordance with law,” he said.
Siddaramaiah’s remarks came in the backdrop of a public appeal by retired Supreme Court judge justice V Gopala Gowda, who urged the government to immediately set up a SIT under judicial supervision. He also called for full state protection for the key witness and his legal team.
“The state must immediately guarantee protection to the whistleblower and his legal team. If anything happens to them, the home minister and the DGP will be directly responsible,” justice Gowda said on Thursday, raising concerns about procedural irregularities and intimidation by investigators.
Justice Gowda further called for the removal of the current investigation officers and stressed that a new probe must be conducted under the supervision of a sitting or retired high court or Supreme Court judge. “The investigating officer is calling outsiders while recording the statement and is asking questions as instructed by them. This is unacceptable and dangerous for the truth. A new SIT under judicial oversight is the only way forward,” he said.
Meanwhile, lawyers representing the whistleblower submitted a detailed memorandum to chief minister Siddaramaiah, home minister G Parameshwara, the Karnataka director general of police (DGP), the Chief Justice of India, and the chief justice of the Karnataka High Court. The memorandum accused local police officials of colluding with external parties, leaking confidential details from the case, and attempting to derail the investigation.
The legal team claimed that the whistleblower’s statement, recorded on July 14, had surfaced in a YouTube video that remained online for more than 11 hours. “This video features an individual who openly claims that the information was provided to him directly by police insiders. Neither our client Sri V nor our legal team have any link whatsoever with this individual. This leak proves beyond doubt that serving officers connected with the probe are wilfully compromising it by sharing sensitive leads with unauthorised third parties,” the petition stated.
The case revolves around the claims of a former sanitation worker from Dharmasthala who alleged that, over a span of years, he was forced to bury the bodies of women and children in and around the temple town. Based on his testimony, the state police registered a case and said they would exhume remains near the Nethravathi river.
