Karnataka Forms SIT To Probe Murders, Sexual Assaults, Missing Women Cases In Dharmasthala

Last Updated:July 20, 2025, 17:10 IST

The four-member special investigation team will be headed by Karnataka DGP, internal security division, Pranav Mohanty

Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara said an SIT has been formed in response to concerns over media reports of mass burials in the Dharmasthala area. (Image: PTI/File)

Responding to concerns over media reports of mass burials, the Siddaramaiah-led government in Karnataka has formed a special investigation team to probe the alleged incidents of murder, rape, and cases of missing women spanning two decades in the Dharmasthala area.

Dharmasthala region of Dakshina Kannada district is a major pilgrimage centre, with Manjunatha as the presiding deity.

A government order (GO) dated July 19 was shared with the press on Sunday. The police have already registered a case under Section 211(a) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) in Dharmasthala.

The matter came to light after the discovery of a human skull and statements made by the family of a missing medical student. An individual, a former sanitation worker at the Dharmasthala temple, also came forward claiming that there were “hundreds of bodies were buried in the Dharmasthala area".

“The government has constituted an SIT to look into the Dharmasthala issues. There has been a complaint. There has been a public hue and cry. The government has taken note of all this and then constituted an SIT to look into this entire thing… If somebody is thinking of creating some political issue out of this at this point of time, I don’t want to react to all that," state minister G Parameshwara told news agency ANI.

Here’s what the SIT will do in the Dharmasthala mass burials case:

• The special investigation team (SIT) will be headed by Karnataka director general of police (DGP), internal security division, Pranav Mohanty. Other members include additional commissioner of police (recruitment) MN Anucheth, deputy commissioner of police (CAR headquarters) Soumya Latha, and superintendent of police (internal security division) Jitendra Kumar Dayama.
• The SIT will investigate not only the present case but also all related cases registered or to be registered in other police stations across the state.
• The DGP will assign such cases to the SIT and provide necessary personnel.
• The SIT will function using resources from the Dakshina Kannada district police office and is expected to submit regular updates to the DGP.
• A comprehensive investigation report will be submitted to the state government through the DGP at the earliest.

WHAT IS THE MASS BURIALS CASE?

The state government’s move has come in response to a letter from the Karnataka State Women’s Commission chairperson Nagalakshmi Choudhary, who cited a court statement by an individual claiming that “hundreds of bodies were buried in the Dharmasthala area".

The commission also took serious note of media reports highlighting the discovery of a human skull and statements made by the family of a missing medical student. It said these reports — alongside the court testimony — point to a “disturbing pattern of abuse, unnatural deaths, and disappearances of women and female students spanning more than 20 years".

The police complaint was filed alleging the secret disposal of multiple bodies in a village in the Dakshina Kannada district. The complainant has claimed that he was involved in disposing of several bodies under threat.

His identity has been kept confidential for security reasons. Driven by guilt, he approached the police with a request for protection and expressed willingness to fully cooperate with the investigation, on the condition that legal protection is granted to him and his family.

The complainant has offered to share detailed information about those involved and the specific locations where the bodies were disposed of once safety assurances are in place.

On July 12, in a key development, the complainant’s statement was recorded by the principal civil judge and JMFC of Belthangady Taluk, Dakshina Kannada. The statement was taken under Section 183 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNSS), which corresponds to Section 164 of the former Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

(With agency inputs)

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