Dharmasthala 'mass burial' case: Partial skeletal remains found at 6th spot

The remains, learned to be that of a man, have been found at the sixth site identified by the complainant-witness who has claimed to have buried bodies in a forest area in the vicinity of Nethravathi river in Dharmasthala police station limits, years ago.

Mangaluru: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the alleged mass burial case in Dharmasthala on Thursday found partial skeletal remains at the sixth site inside the forest on the banks of Netravathi river.

SIT members along with 20 labourers entered the forest at about 11.30 am and began digging at the sixth location in the presence of the complainant-witness. Within a few minutes of digging, at a depth of about 2.5 to 3 feet, the skeletal remains, including pieces of skull, were discovered. Police found about 20 to 25 bone fragments of “partial skeletal remains”.

Members of the forensic team at the site collected the skeletal remains for further tests at the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL).

The skeleton seemed to resemble a man, sources in SIT informed while quoting forensic experts. The remains were found on the third day after the SIT began exhumation process.

In order to expedite the digging process, an earthmover was also shifted to the locations inside the forest.

A temporary shed was also set up close to the locations inside the forest to facilitate the forensic team to seal the boxes with the skeletal remains. The SIT team emerged from the forest around 7.30 pm.

According to sources in SIT, digging will resume at seven locations on Friday. 

The sixth spot in the forest along the Nethravathi in Dharmasthala, where partial remains of a body was found.

After the discovery of skeletal remains at the sixth location, SIT head and Director General of Police (Internal Security Division) Pranav Mohanty, Additional Commissioner of Police (Recruitment) M N Anucheth and other officials held closed-door discussions on unearthing information about the skeletal remains. 

PAN mystery cracked

A PAN and a debit card were found during the digging. Sources privy to the investigation told DH that the officers verified the PAN and found that it belonged to a male, who died of jaundice in 2025 in his native village. "He must have visited the spot and the PAN card must have accidentally been dropped," added the source, who also said, "the deceased youth's father confirmed that they had buried his son's body at the spot." The sources also told DH that a debit card that was also found in the same spot belonged to the mother of the deceased male person. "The mother is very much alive," said the source.