Dharmasthala Mass Burial Case: SIT to Prepare List of Missing Persons from Past 20 Years

The SIT, strengthened with 20 additional officers, has broad investigative powers in the Dharmasthala Mass Burial Case. DCP Sowmyalatha withdrew, but a replacement female officer will be appointed to the 24-member team.

Bengaluru: The Special Investigation Team is set to compile a list of missing persons over the past 20 years in connection with the mysterious deaths in Dharmasthala. The count of mysterious deaths and unidentified bodies will also be taken. Currently, security has been tightened at the SIT camp in Belthangadi. Officials from the Land Records, Revenue, and Forest Departments visited the SIT camp. 

The case was transferred to the SIT after a former sanitation worker of the Dharmasthala temple told the police that he was forced to dispose of the bodies of girls and women who were allegedly raped and murdered in Dharmasthala between 1998 and 2014. He testified that bodies were buried in various locations, including the reserved forest in Dharmasthala. The SIT collected documents from the Dharmasthala police station, including the FIR and related records.

Meanwhile, DCP Sowmyalatha, the only female IPS officer on the SIT, has withdrawn from the probe, citing personal reasons in her resignation letter. Home Minister G. Parameshwara assured that another female officer will be appointed to the 24-member SIT led by DGP Pranab Kumar Mohanty. The Home Department recently issued an order adding 20 more officers from Uttara Kannada, Chikkamagaluru, and Udupi districts to strengthen the investigation. Operating from the IB camp office in Belthangadi, the SIT will have sweeping powers, including the authority to take over and investigate missing persons’ cases from any police station in Karnataka, if required.