Dharmasthala Mystery: Woman Admits Faking Daughter’s Disappearance

Sujatha Bhat, a key complainant who alleged her daughter Ananya vanished in 2003, confessed on Friday that her story was fabricated, driven by a property dispute with the Dharmasthala temple authorities. Speaking to YouTube channel InsightRush, Bhat revealed that activists Girish Mattannavar and T Jayanti pressured her to concoct the tale of her daughter’s disappearance to spotlight a grievance over her grandfather’s land, which she claims was taken without her consent. “Some people told me to say it. It was about the property issue—that’s the only reason,” she stated, denying any financial motives.

Bhat’s initial complaint, filed on July 15, 2025, claimed that her 18-year-old daughter, Ananya, a medical student, disappeared during a trip to Dharmasthala in May 2003. She alleged that Ananya stayed near the temple while her friends went shopping, only to vanish without a trace. Bhat further claimed that when she pursued answers, she was abducted, assaulted, and left in a coma, waking up a month later in a Bengaluru hospital. These explosive allegations, coupled with a former sanitation worker’s claims of burying hundreds of bodies, fueled accusations of mass burials, sexual assaults, and cover-ups, prompting the Karnataka government to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT).

However, Bhat’s retraction has cast significant doubt on the case. “It is not true. There was never any daughter named Ananya Bhat,” she admitted, revealing that even the photograph she presented as evidence was fake. She apologized to the people of Karnataka and Dharmasthala devotees, saying, “I never needed money. Please forgive me.” Her brother, in a separate interview, disowned her claims, stating the family had no contact with her since 1988 and that the land was legally donated decades ago.

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The SIT, led by Pranab Mohanty, took Bhat into custody on Friday after extensive questioning revealed inconsistencies in her statements. The probe continues, with authorities now investigating the roles of activists Mattannavar and Jayanti, who have not yet responded to Bhat’s accusations. The retraction has intensified scrutiny on the broader allegations, with partial skeletal remains found at two of 14 excavation sites along the Netravathi River still awaiting forensic analysis.

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