SIT officials will decide on whether to continue with probe, says Home Minister

Seeking that the alleged mass burial issue in Dharmasthala should not be politicised, Home Minister G. Parameshwara has said that Special Investigation Team officials will decide on whether to continue the probe or not. 

Speaking to reporters here on Sunday, the Home Minister said that the Dharmasthala issue is one of law and justice with a complaint being filed, and the police who have taken up the case will probe it.

“If any evidence is found, a chargesheet will be filed in court. The SIT has to be given time to probe the complaint to know the truth instead of bringing in an religious angle to it or politicising it.”

Stating that the government has not issued any specific direction to the SIT, he said that SIT officials will decide on whether to submit an interim probe report. 

The Home Minister said that no one, including the Chief Minister, is intervening in the matter.

Reacting to Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar’s allegations that there could be a conspiracy, Dr. Parameshwara said that the issue should not be politicised, and one can imagine the consequences of such politicisation.

Meanwhile, responding to presspersons’ queries in Bengaluru, Mr. Shivakumar described the BJP’s campaign-cum-rally in Dharmasthala as “political yatra and not a religious yatra”. He argued that Dharmasthala was a property of the general public and not a private property of the BJP.