Day 2 of search for skeletal remains yields no results in Dharmasthala

Day Two of attempts to exhume skeletal remains of those allegedly killed and buried in Dharmasthala did not yield any results on Wednesday either.

The process began on Tuesday, when the Special Investigation Team (SIT) dug up spot 1 of the 13 shown by the whistleblower who claimed to have been forced to bury bodies between 1995 and 2014, but did not find any human remains.

On Wednesday, the SIT dug up four more spots — 2, 3, 4 and 5 — all in the forest area in Dharmasthala and at no place did they find any human remains. Sources said that SIT ensured all the pits were dug at least six feet deep and to the satisfaction of the complainant in the case, but concluded the day empty handed.

Sources in the SIT said they will continue digging at the other spots shown by the complainant on Thursday. The SIT has conducted an inquest of 13 such spots on Monday.

Meanwhile, SIT sleuths have recovered a PAN card in the name of a male and a Rupay debit card in the name of a female while digging site 1 on Tuesday. A senior official said they were recovered less than half a foot below the ground and attempts were under way to track either them or their families down, to ascertain what happened to them and how these cards ended up at this site.