Dharmasthala 'burial' case: SIT chief will be replaced if he goes on central govt duty, says CM Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday said that senior IPS officer Pronab Mohanty, who is heading the SIT, set up to probe the allegations of "mass burials" in Dharmasthala, will be replaced if he goes on central government duty.

Meanwhile, Home Minister G Parameshwara said the government has not taken any decision yet on Mohanty.

There has been speculation that Mohanty -- Director General of Police (Internal Security Division) -- who has found a place in the list of empanelment of Director General-rank officers to serve in the union government, released by the Centre, will be replaced as the SIT chief.

When reporters questioned whether the SIT chief in the Dharmasthala case will be replaced, Siddaramaiah said, "Let's see. If he (Mohanty) goes to central government (he will be replaced)..." The Special Investigation Team was constituted by the state government following claims about alleged mass murder, rape, and mass burials in Dharmasthala, over the past two decades.

A former sanitation worker, whose identity has not been revealed, 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.

Speaking to reporters, Parameshwara said no decision has been taken by the government regarding replacing the SIT chief, but unnecessarily false posts are being made by some on this issue, which is not true.

"There are a lot of misconceptions on this. As the government wanted a senior official of DG ranking to head the SIT, Mohanty was appointed. Meanwhile, Mohanty's name has come in the central government deputation list. We have not taken any decision in this regard, whether to send him on central government's deputation or not. It comes under Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR) and the Chief Minister," he said.

Asked about allegations that the SIT chief is being replaced to divert the investigation, the home minister said, "What is the government's interest in this? Why would we have formed (SIT) if that was the case? The government only wants the truth to come out. So SIT was formed and once it submits the report after completing the probe the facts will come out. This is what we want. I think this is what people too want." He clarified that there is no politics in this and the government certainly doesn't have any agenda to rescue or fix someone. "My appeal is that no one should look at things with wrong intentions. We told officials to conduct the probe in a transparent manner. The only agenda the government has is a transparent probe," he added.

Not willing to make any comments on the probe that is under way, Paramesshwara said, until the investigation is completed and report is submitted by the SIT, he will not speak on the matter.

"I cannot speak and will not speak on this. We will not discuss anything until the investigation is completed and a report comes. We should not speak as we have no specific interests in the case. What we only want is truth to come out," he said.

The SIT, headed by Mohanty, also consists of Deputy Inspector General of Police (Recruitment) M N Anucheth and IPS officers Soumyalatha S K and Jitendra Kumar Dayama.

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

The SIT is conducting exhumation as part of its probe into the alleged mass burials, at the locations identified by the complainant witness.