Mangaluru (Karnataka), Sep 17: In a major development the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Dharmasthala murder case resumed excavations on Wednesday at Banglegudde region in Dharmasthala temple town and collected bones and soil from the suspected burial spots.
A team of 50 to 60, including SIT officers, Scene Of Crime Officers (SOCO) and others are monitoring the excavation work carried out by the civic workers.
The team has taken a sack of salt, five to six plastic PVC pipes, boxes and other materials to the spot.
Sources confirmed that the team has found bones and some denim cloth at the new burial spots.
The team has collected bones and soil samples from the spots and continued the excavation operation amid rain.
The excavation work is being carried out between the 11th and 12th burial sites. The development has assumed significance as SIT Chief Pronab Mohanty had met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday and briefed him about the progress of the investigation.
The excavation is being carried out based on the statement made by Vittal Gowda, a close relative of Soujanya, who was allegedly kidnapped, gang raped and killed in Dharmasthala.
Vittal Gowda had claimed that he had seen a pile of bones of children and bodies being buried in Dharmasthala. The SIT has launched excavation operations in this background.
Meanwhile, activists approached the Supreme Court on Tuesday, calling for urgent judicial oversight in the case.
The Supreme Court has been urged to take suo motu cognisance of the alleged mass burials in Dharmasthala, after disturbing revelations were made by sanitation worker C.N. Chinnayya, known as ‘mask man’, who reported decades-long secret burials linked to alleged crimes and sexual assaults.
Advocate Rohit Pandey has formally appealed to the Chief Justice of India to place the SIT under the supervision of a Retired Supreme Court Judge for transparent and independent investigation and ensure immediate exhumation and forensic examination of all visible remains at Banglegudde and other identified sites under judicial oversight.
The petition stated, “On July 3, 2025, Chinnayya’s formal complaint and sworn affidavit triggered a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe, leading to exhumations and the recovery of human remains and victims’ belongings substantiating grave allegations.
“The National Human Rights Commission visited Dharmasthala in August, corroborating witness threats and intimidation faced by Chinnayya and his family.
“Despite consistent testimonies from villagers and public admissions by a Senior Karnataka Cabinet Minister on September 13, confirming the magnitude of mass burials as resembling a “battlefield,” subsequent SIT efforts face obstruction due to high-level pressure, risking suppression of further exhumations.”
Lawyers representing victims now report harassment and intimidation by local police, threatening justice and the independence of legal counsel. Witnesses and families are under severe threat, raising concerns about a breakdown in rule of law in Karnataka, the petition alleged.
Meanwhile, Mahesh Shetty Thimarody, one of the activists raising his voice against temple authorities has formally submitted a detailed complaint to the National Human Rights Commission alleging “systematic police harassment, abuse of power, and malicious criminal prosecution aimed at silencing my voice and dismantling citizen-led movements.”
IANS