A Special Investigation Team (SIT), led by DGP Pronab Mohanty, began site inspections in Dharmasthala on Monday to investigate chilling allegations of mass burials linked to sexual assault and murder spanning 1995 to 2014. The team, accompanied by Kadaba Tahsildar Prabhakara Khajure and local officials, conducted a preliminary inspection (mahazar) at the Nethravati riverbank’s bathing ghats, following claims by a former sanitation worker that skeletal remains may be buried there. No remains were found, but forensic surveys are planned, police said.

The SIT, formed on July 19 after public outcry and pressure from the Karnataka State Commission for Women, includes DIG M.N. Anucheth, DCP Soumyalatha S.K., and SP Jitendra Kumar Dayama, supported by 20 personnel from Udupi, Dakshina Kannada, and Uttara Kannada.

The probe, triggered by a whistleblower’s July 3 complaint at Dharmasthala police station, alleges he was coerced into burying over 100 bodies, mostly women and minors, some showing signs of sexual violence. His statement, recorded under Section 183 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, has revived unresolved cases like the 2012 Sowjanya rape-murder and the 2003 disappearance of medical student Ananya Bhat.

Mohanty oversaw inspections and questioned the whistleblower for a second day on July 27 at the SIT’s Mallikatte office, equipped for video-recorded interrogations. The team reviewed missing persons records and suspicious death reports, engaging local residents for leads.

Allegations of police collusion and leaks, raised by the whistleblower’s lawyers, have heightened concerns about the probe’s integrity. The temple administration, led by the influential Heggade family, welcomed the SIT, urging a transparent investigation. With protests echoing decades-old unresolved cases, the SIT faces pressure to deliver justice or risk fueling distrust in Dharmasthala’s revered pilgrimage center.

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