<p>Bengaluru: The Karnataka high court on Tuesday directed the state government advocate to get instructions in the fresh public interest litigation (PIL) relating to the Dharmasthala mass burials.</p>.<p>A division bench comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C M Poonacha posted the matter to February 3 for further consideration.</p>.<p>The petition is filed by Kusumavati, mother of Soujanya who was raped and murdered in Dharmasthala in 2012. The petition sought directions to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to act upon the representation submitted by the petitioner in October 2025 and register 74 FIRs treating each of the unnatural deaths as a crime.</p>.Nitin Nabin to take over as BJP national president soon; party opts for status quo in Karnataka for now.<p>According to the petitioner, Belthangady taluk in Dakshina Kannada consistently registered the highest number of unnatural death reports in the entire state. The petitioner claimed that at least 74 persons, who died or were found dead in Dharmasthala between 1990 and 2021, were subjected to immediate burials as unknown persons. Many bodies were buried the very day they were found, while others buried the next day. In each case, barring one, the location of the grave was never recorded in any official document, the petition said.</p>.<p>The petition further stated that the government order constituting the SIT refers “a comprehensive and impartial investigation into cases of missing women and female students, unnatural deaths/murder cases, and rape cases reported in the Dharmasthala area over the past 20 years.”</p>.<p>The petitioner stated that the SIT is not limited to any single case but extends to the related criminal cases.</p>
<p>Bengaluru: The Karnataka high court on Tuesday directed the state government advocate to get instructions in the fresh public interest litigation (PIL) relating to the Dharmasthala mass burials.</p>.<p>A division bench comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C M Poonacha posted the matter to February 3 for further consideration.</p>.<p>The petition is filed by Kusumavati, mother of Soujanya who was raped and murdered in Dharmasthala in 2012. The petition sought directions to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to act upon the representation submitted by the petitioner in October 2025 and register 74 FIRs treating each of the unnatural deaths as a crime.</p>.Nitin Nabin to take over as BJP national president soon; party opts for status quo in Karnataka for now.<p>According to the petitioner, Belthangady taluk in Dakshina Kannada consistently registered the highest number of unnatural death reports in the entire state. The petitioner claimed that at least 74 persons, who died or were found dead in Dharmasthala between 1990 and 2021, were subjected to immediate burials as unknown persons. Many bodies were buried the very day they were found, while others buried the next day. In each case, barring one, the location of the grave was never recorded in any official document, the petition said.</p>.<p>The petition further stated that the government order constituting the SIT refers “a comprehensive and impartial investigation into cases of missing women and female students, unnatural deaths/murder cases, and rape cases reported in the Dharmasthala area over the past 20 years.”</p>.<p>The petitioner stated that the SIT is not limited to any single case but extends to the related criminal cases.</p>
