The SIT deploying a drone and GPR for the first time at the 13th spot in Dharmasthala on Tuesday.
Credit: DH Photo
Mangaluru: Special Investigation Team (SIT) Chief Pronab Mohanty visited the SIT office in Belthangady on Wednesday to review the ongoing probe into the Dharmasthala mass burial case and guided the team on further course of action.
The SIT continued its investigation and questioned several individuals who had earlier worked as sanitation workers in the Dharmasthala Gram Panchayat. SIT sources said sanitation workers and panchayat staff allegedly involved in burying unidentified bodies in the village over the past few decades were summoned and interrogated about the allegations of illegally disposing of such bodies.
Meanwhile, SIT officials have collected records of unnatural deaths and murder cases registered over the last two and a half decade at Belthangady Police Station (the jurisdiction under which Dharmasthala Police outpost earlier functioned) and at the Dharmasthala Police Station itself. These records are being scrutinised. Documentation of search operations at various locations identified by the complainant witness is also in progress.
Separately, the Dharmasthala Police summoned and questioned six to seven individuals, including Mahesh Shetty Thimmarody, Girish Mattennavar, and complainant Jayant T, who had lodged a complaint with the SIT regarding the alleged burial of a minor girl.
It may be recalled that on August 6, YouTubers were attacked near Pangala Road in Dharmasthala and were admitted to a hospital in Ujire for treatment. According to a complaint filed by private kannada channel reporter Harish R, when Girish Mattennavar was asked to give a statement near the hospital, Mahesh Shetty Thimmarody and others allegedly assaulted him. A case in this regard was registered at Dharmasthala Police Station. Jayant T is also facing allegations of unlawful assembly near Pangala Road in Dharmasthala.