Dharmasthala: SIT probe still on, no conclusion yet, says Karnataka home minister

G Parameshwara confirmed the complainant’s arrest but said the SIT alone will determine the outcome of the investigation.

Udupi: Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Saturday confirmed the arrest of the complainant, who had alleged multiple murders, rapes and burials in Dharmasthala over the past two decades, but said no conclusion could be drawn until the SIT completes its probe.

He said the SIT is likely to continue its investigation based on the statements given by the complainant.

"It is true that he has been arrested and is in police custody. As the investigation is on, no information can be shared. The police (SIT) investigation is on, and they have arrested him. SIT will share the details," Parameshwara told reporters when asked about the arrest and grounds for it.

"Whether he has been arrested on suspicion or under what section, all those details are with the SIT…. Based on the complainant’s complaint, a probe began. Now that he has been arrested, the investigation will continue based on his statements," he added.

The SIT, constituted by the state government, is probing allegations of multiple murders, rapes, and burials across different places in Dharmasthala over the past two decades.

The complainant, a former sanitation worker, claimed he worked in Dharmasthala between 1995 and 2014 and was forced to bury several bodies, including those of women and minors.

He alleged that some of the bodies bore signs of sexual assault and had recorded a statement before a magistrate.

As part of the probe, the SIT has conducted excavations at locations identified by the complainant in forested areas along the Netravathi River banks, where skeletal remains have so far been found at two sites.

Asked whether there was a network behind the complainant, Parameshwara said, "It has to be identified whether there was any network or not. Once the probe report comes, it will be known."

On whether the SIT probe would end with the arrest of the complainant, he said, “It cannot be said.”

To a question on why narcoanalysis of the complainant, suggested by Dakshina Kannada police a month ago, was delayed, the minister said, "once the case was handed over to SIT, the government will not give directions on how the investigation should happen. What methods SIT uses to bring out the truth is left to its chief. We won’t direct".

Also known as truth serum, narcoanalysis has been used for solving crucial cases in the past.

The test involves the intravenous administration of a drug that causes the person undergoing it to enter into various stages of anaesthesia.

Responding to the BJP’s criticism of the government over the issue, he said, "They keep making allegations. BJP makes allegations, others comment and make statements. But based on those statements, we cannot come to any conclusion until SIT submits its final report".

On whether action would also be taken against Sujata Bhat, Parameshwara said her complaint too was under investigation. "Until the probe report comes, nothing can be disclosed as it may affect the SIT investigation. We won’t reveal anything until the probe is over," he said.

Sujata Bhat had earlier claimed her daughter, Ananya Bhat, went missing after a trip to Dharmasthala in 2003. She has since made contradictory statements, reportedly saying she never had a daughter and that a false complaint was filed at the instigation of others. She later retracted that statement as well.