Dissolve SIT in burial case immediately or face people’s ire, says Chakravarti Sulibele

Hindutva activist Chakravarti Sulibele has demanded the dissolution of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that is supervising attempts at exhuming bodies in Dharmasthala, saying that the effort is yielding no results. He was in Hubballi to speak at a protest rally.

“The police are following an anonymous man who claims to show them a mass burial site. But it is not yielding any results. Instead, the operation is affecting the reputation of Dharmasthala where no offence can be committed,” he told reporters on Sunday.

“SIT officials are digging up all places being pointed to by the anonymous man and it wouldn’t be surprising if they end up digging the entire Dharmasthala. The SIT must immediately stop its operations and instead, an investigation should be carried out against those who made false allegations against Dharmasthala,” he said.

“The SIT has reached a point where it is as though they are desperate to find at least one body based on anonymous claims. The digging work in the area must be stopped immediately. Otherwise, all the people in the State will rise in revolt. If the State government does not dissolve the SIT immediately, there can be a massive agitation. There have already been attempts to defame Hindu leaders and symbols. If this continues, the people will come to the streets and protest. If that happens, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah himself will be held responsible,” he said.

“Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar himself has said that a dangerous conspiracy is at play and that he will reveal it when the time comes. The State government should reveal what it is,” he said.

“For nearly 13 years now, there has been a continuous attempt to tarnish the reputation of the holy place. People are deliberately speaking in a way that casts a black mark on the holy place. There is a deliberate attempt to destroy the faith of Hindus in Dharmasthala. The State government seems to have handed the case over to the SIT under pressure and the Ministers themselves have said so. Let the Chief Minister reveal the source of pressure,” he said.

Apart from digging, advanced technology like GPR was used to detect remnants of bodies underground. But nothing was found there. Is this not the time to interrogate who made such allegations of multiple murders? First, it was said that there were 13 burial places and now, 18 spots have been dug up. How long is this to continue? Should taxpayers money be wasted on baseless allegations?,” he asked.