Dharmasthala case: Protection given to witness complainant withdrawn

Mangaluru: The protection given to witness complainant in the Dharmasthala 'mass burial' case under the witness protection scheme, 2018, was withdrawn after a report was submitted stating that he was being treated as an accused by the Special Investigation Team (SIT).

The report was submitted to the witness protection committee headed by Principal District and Sessions Judge, Dakshina Kannada (DK) Superintendent of Police (SP) Dr Arun K said on Sunday.

"Once he (Chinnaiah) is being treated as an accused, the Witness Protection scheme is no longer in force, SP Dr Arun informed DH when contacted.

With the 60 day witness protection period ending on September 8, the social media was abuzz with reports that jurisdictional officer of the DySP rank will submit a threat perception report to the district Witness protection committee at the earliest.