Dharmasthala Complainant Retracts Claims On 'Missing Daughter', Taken Into SIT Custody

Last Updated:August 23, 2025, 10:23 IST

Bhat, who had been under witness protection until recently, was taken into custody by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) after being questioned throughout the day on Friday

Representative Image of Karnataka Police | ANI

Amid the ongoing SIT probe in Dharmasthala into alleged suspicious deaths and burials, Sujatha Bhat, who had earlier claimed her daughter Ananya went missing during a trip to the temple town in 2003, has now admitted that she never had a daughter.

Bhat, who had been under witness protection until recently, was taken into custody by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) after being questioned throughout the day on Friday.

Earlier, speaking to a YouTube channel, she admitted that her allegations, including the disappearance of her daughter in 2003, were fabricated.

“Some people told me to say it. I was asked to do it because of the property issue. That’s the only reason," Bhat said.

According to her, the dispute related to a plot of land owned by her grandfather, which she claimed was taken over by the Dharmasthala temple authorities.

She alleged that activists Girish Mattannavar and T Jayanti had encouraged her to make the accusations, though she denied receiving or demanding money from anyone.

She clarified that her main concern was over her family’s property being transferred without her consent.

Neither Mattannavar nor Jayanti have responded to her allegations so far.

In her initial complaint, Bhat had alleged that her daughter Ananya, an 18-year-old medical student, went missing during a trip to Dharmasthala in May 2003.

She claimed Ananya’s friends had gone shopping while she stayed behind near the temples, but when they returned, she had vanished.

Bhat also told police that she herself had been abducted, assaulted, tied up, and warned against pursuing the matter. She alleged she was left in a coma and treated at a private hospital in Bengaluru before recovering weeks later.

These claims snowballed into wider allegations of mass burials, sexual assault, and disappearances linked to the temple authorities, prompting the Karnataka government to set up an SIT.

With her retraction, Bhat has now asked for forgiveness, casting fresh doubt on one of the most controversial cases in recent years.

Location :

Karnataka, India, India

First Published:

August 23, 2025, 10:23 IST

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