SIT arrests Dharmasthala Whistleblower in mass burial case

23-Aug-2025

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Karnataka’s Special Investigating Team (SIT) arrested the complainant who had alleged there were multiple murders, rapes and burials in Dharmasthala over a period of the past two decades on August 23.  

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) and its chief, Pranab Mohanty, have questioned the complainant whose name is not revealed on Friday till late hours.

The arrest was made after inconsistencies were found in the statements and documents provided. The SIT is continuing its probe into the matter, officials said. 

The complainant-witness, a former sanitation worker, has claimed that he worked in Dharmasthala between 1995 and 2014, and that he was forced to bury a number of bodies, including those of women and minors, in Dharmasthala.

He had alleged that some of the bodies showed signs of sexual assault. He has also given a statement before a magistrate in this regard.