Dharmasthala crimes: Lawyers demand SIT probe

Bengaluru: A group of lawyers, led by retired Supreme Court Justice V Gopala Gowda, on Thursday demanded the immediate constitution of a special investigation team (SIT) to investigate the alleged mass murder, rape, and mass burials in Dharmasthala.

Addressing a press conference in the city, advocate Balan alleged, “More than 367 women victims are missing, many of whom are residents of the Dharmasthala region and students of the law, medical and engineering colleges of the region.”

He added that victims from Kerala are also there in the list.

He cited specific cases like Padmalatha, Ananya Bhat (a first-year MBBS student who is said to be missing), Vedavalli, and Soujanya. 

The advocates claimed, “The incidents of mass murder, mass rape, and mass burial have been widely reported in both media and the public domain over the past week.”

The catalyst for these allegations is an eyewitness, a former sanitation worker at Dharmasthala, who has reportedly provided a confessional statement before a Magistrate under Section 183 (with the recording of confessions and statements by a Magistrate during an investigation) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), leading to the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) at Belthangady police station.

Justice Gowda said that the eyewitness “has come forward to tell the police and the public there are number of rapes and murders have taken place and he is the eyewitness who has done these burials of the victims.”

Despite the eyewitness’s disclosure of mass burials and the alleged availability of dead bodies, these bodies are “reportedly still awaiting exhumation.”  

The person who has come to testify and his lawyers are facing life threats. Therefore, it is important to provide them with security. The government should do this work now. The witness has warned that if anything happens to them, the Home Minister and the state’s Director General of Police will be held responsible, he added.

The Lawyers expressed disappointment that the investigation, currently under a local Sub-Inspector supervised by a Deputy Superintendent of Police, is not progressing within the mandate of the BNSS.

They stressed the “gravity of the alleged offences and the information suggesting that these crimes may have been committed by highly influential and powerful personalities.”

To ensure impartiality and public confidence, the lawyers urged for an SIT to be monitored by an Additional Director General of Police (ADGP)-level officer in conjunction with a sitting or retired Judge of the Supreme Court or the Karnataka High Court.

They also called for comprehensive forensic support carried out with the total assistance of a Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) Team, including DNA analysis and digital forensics, video recording of the entire investigation, thorough analysis of the crime scene, and the immediate arrest and custodial interrogation of all those allegedly involved.

Justice Gowda said that a formal letter about these concerns has already been submitted to the chief minister and he has assured them that he would look into the matter. 

Advocates C S Dwarakanath, Umapathi, Sudha Katwa and Balan were also present.