Dharmasthala burial case: Claims of officer opting out of SIT quashed, probe team begins groundwork

Bengaluru/Mangaluru: No police officer has opted out of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the alleged mass killings in Dharmasthala, a temple town in Dakshina Kannada, highly placed sources said on Friday.

The sources confirmed to DH that the full team remains intact and has begun groundwork for the investigation.

The sources scotched reports that IPS officer Soumyalatha S K had written to the SIT chief, Pronab Mohanty, asking to be relieved of SIT duties citing personal reasons.

Home Minister G Parameshwara told reporters on July 24 that he had learnt about officers opting out of the SIT but had not yet received official communication. The sources denied this.

"This is a court-monitored probe. No officer has written any letter. The question of someone wanting or not wanting (to be part of the SIT) does not arise," the sources said. "All officers appointed to the SIT are very much part of it."

The 22-member SIT is being headed by Pranav Mohanty, Director General of Police (Internal Security Division). Other members of SIT Additional Commissioner of Police (Recruitment) M N Anucheth and Superintendent of Police (Internal Security Division) Jitendra Kumar Dayama visited Mangaluru and held two meetings in Circuit house and later at IGP (Western range) office.

Deputy Inspector General of Police (Recruitment) MN Anucheth and IPS officer Jitendra Kumar Dayama are also part of the team.

Anucheth and Jitendra first held a closed-door meeting with over 12 Inspectors, Sub Inspectors, head constables, constables all drawn from dakshina kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada police department in Circuit house. Anucheth addressing members had emphasised on maintaining utmost secrecy and ensuring that sensitive information was not leaked to public.

According to sources, Anucheth had issued directions for remaining eight police personnel to report and assist the probe at the earliest. Later both Anucheth and Jitendra held discussions with IGP (Western Range) Amit Singh. Anucheth after the two-hour long meeting with IGP was surrounded by mediapersons waiting outside the IGP building. However Anucheth parrying all queries from mediapersons said; "No comments."

Twenty police personnel — inspectors, sub-inspectors, head constables and constables — from Udupi, Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada have also been deployed to the SIT.

Members of Bengaluru based Kannadigara Rakshana Vedike performed `urulu seve' seeking an amicable end to disturbing messages on social media and mass media at Shri Manjunatha temple in Dharmasthala on Friday.

Meanwhile, SIT officers have begun investigating the case.

All case documents prepared by the local police during the course of the investigation are also in the SIT's possession.

"The investigation has begun and will be dictated by evidence and facts on the ground. We want to expedite the investigation," the sources said.

Karnataka constituted the SIT on July 20 following a petition from the Karnataka State Commission for Women, which sought an investigation into "unnatural deaths", missing cases and sexual assault cases linked to women and female students in the last 20 years in Dharmasthala following media reports and the emergence of a witness".

The allegations first surfaced in early July.

A sanitation worker — whose identity has not been revealed — stated in a police complaint that between 1995 and 2014, he was forced to bury bodies, including those of women and minors, in Dharmasthala. He alleged that some of the bodies showed signs of sexual assault, and later gave a statement to a local court.