Karnataka Mass Grave: SIT Formed To Probe Missing Cases After Ex-Worker's Mass Burial Confession

Dharmasthala, Karnataka: Following the explosive revelation made by a whistleblower and a former daily-wage laborer, claiming existence of horrific secret mass grave around popular pilgrimage place, Dharmasthala in Karnataka, the state government on Sunday formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the alleged incident.

The guilt-stricken man’s disclosure left the nation in shock when he returned to dig up evidence at the site. He alleged mass burials of raped women, minors and their cover ups at Dharmasthala temple town. Hundreds gathered in the region raising placards and photos of missing daughters, sisters, and loved ones, after the whistleblower’s testimony rattled the spiritual town.

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The SIT that has been formed by the Karnataka government will be 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 former employee claimed he himself buried more than 100 bodies in and around Dharamshala. He said that he complied with the crimes after being threatened he would be killed otherwise. He silently burned and buried the bodies of hundreds of women that he alleges had marks of sexual assault and murders.

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The whistleblower was reportedly from the local Dalit community, and had been working on the payroll of the Lord Manjunatha temple board for nearly 20 years as a sanitation worker. He fled Dharmasthala in December 2014 after a girl from his own family was allegedly assaulted by someone linked to his superiors, as per a report by India Today.

However, the government has ordered to investigate to probe the crimes registered under the 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

Earlier, the State Commission for Women had sought probes into cases of missing women and female students, unnatural death murder cases, and rape cases in the Dharmasthala area over the last 20 years. The commission also mentioned the latest missing case dated July 12, consisting of the statement of a family saying that their daughter had gone missing.