In a significant twist to the Dharmasthala mass burial case, the key whistleblower was arrested on Saturday for allegedly misleading the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Karnataka Police. The arrest came after the complainant, a former sanitation worker with the Dharmasthala temple administration, was questioned overnight until 6 am.
According to an India Today report, police sources have revealed that the skull initially produced by the whistleblower was fake, leading to his arrest on charges of perjury and furnishing false evidence. The complainant had originally claimed to have buried 70–80 bodies at multiple locations.
The whistleblower will be produced before the magistrate in the evening. Before being presented in court, he was taken to a local hospital for a medical check-up.
SIT Findings and Previous Allegations
Out of the 15 suspected burial sites identified by the complainant, skeletal remains of only one male were found at spot number six.
When earlier asked why human remains had been recovered at only one location, the whistleblower had said some sites may have been lost due to erosion, forest growth, or construction. He also claimed that locals had witnessed burials in broad daylight but did not intervene.
Denying accusations of defaming the Dharmasthala temple, the whistleblower had said: “What will I gain by tarnishing the temple’s name? I am a Hindu, from a Scheduled Caste.”
He had further alleged that some of the bodies buried between 1998 and 2014 bore signs of sexual assault, a claim he had also made in a statement before a magistrate.
Recently, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara stated in the Assembly that if the SIT found the allegations to be false, action could be taken against the complainant under the law.
