Samples of human skulls found in Dharwad sent to FSL

 The samples of human skulls found while desilting a drain at Annigeri in Navalgund taluk of Dharwad district on Saturday have been sent to Forensic Science Laboratory for further examination, Deputy Commissioner Darpan Jain said on Tuesday.Speaking with mediapersons here, he said forensic experts have been pressed into service and they have collected some samples and the investigation is on. Similarly, the Research Centre for DNA Diagnostics have also taken up the research and would be submitting its report. Jain said, the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) officials would be visiting the site and try to ascertain age of the skulls. The area is cordoned off and people have been told not to take up excavation work, he added.

Though no one is sure about how the skulls could were buried there, several interesting theories are making rounds. According to one version, British soldiers had butchered a few freedom fighters returning from Mundargi to Nargund. It is a well-documented fact that the freedom fighters used this route and it is popularly known as "dandina daari".

 Another theory is that Badami rulers had massacred the soliders of rival army and buried them in Annigeri. However, the two theories lack conviction as only skulls have been found and not the rest of the skeleton.

But retired principal S S Harlapur has come out with a more plausible reason. According to him, rulers tried to assert their supremacy in the past and waged battles to expand their territories. To celebrate their victory some of the kings would behead enemy soldiers. They might have been buried in Annigeri, he felt. The theories will continue to fly as the results of FSL are likely to take at least a couple of months. Following the find, the place has become a picinic spot with hundreds of people coming different parts of the district.  
More than 20 human skulls were found while removing silt from a drain at Annigeri in Navalgund taluk of Dharwad district on Saturday. An earthmover was removing the silt when the skulls were found in a row in the drain. Moreover, the skulls were found at just three feet depth and the officials had stopped the work.