Unnatural deaths in Dharmasthala: Activist demands SIT probe amid viral claim of buried skeletons

Mahesh Shetty alleges four suspicious deaths were buried without FIRs, while a viral video claims multiple skeletons lie hidden—though SIT rejects the assertion.

Mangaluru: Activist Mahesh Shetty Thimarody on Thursday night filed a complaint with the Special Investigation Team (SIT) at its Belthangady office, urging a probe into four unnatural deaths that occurred between 2006 and 2010 in various lodges in Dharmasthala village.

In his complaint, he alleged these deaths could potentially be murders and demanded a thorough SIT investigation. Along with the complaint, he submitted documents obtained under the Right to Information Act.

The four cases involved deaths in three lodges, where the bodies were declared “unidentified” and hastily buried by the gram panchayat. Only unnatural death cases were registered, with no FIRs filed, despite suspicions of murder or suicide—a factor raising serious doubts, Mahesh Shetty claimed.

Meanwhile, a video of Vittal Gowda claiming to have seen several skeletons buried at Banglegudde near the Nethravathi bathing ghat went viral. In the video, he stated, “They (SIT) took me to Banglegudde twice for spot mahazar (inspection). I saw three human skeletons during the first visit and a heap of bodies beneath the ground during the second. In total, I saw five skeletons, including child bones.”

He added, “What the complainant witness has said is 100% true. We are ready to join the investigation anytime, even at 1 am if needed.”

Sources in SIT, however, declined Vittal Gowda's claims. The SIT had taken him for spot inspections on September 6 and September 10, following the earlier handover of a human skull by the complainant witness.