Dharmasthala 'Illegal Mass Burial' Case Takes Dramatic Turn As SIT Probes Conspiracy

Bengaluru: The SIT investigation into Dharmasthala's 'illegal mass burial' allegation has taken a completely new direction, with the SIT beginning a reverse investigation into the allegations.

SIT Starts Working On The Conspiracy Theory

The SIT has now started working on the conspiracy theory, especially by five front line activists against Dharmasthala Temple Administration, which include the `masked' complainant, Mahesh Shetty Thimarodi, activist Girish Mattannanavar, YouTuber M D Sameer and Sujatha Bhat, who claimed her daughter Ananya went absconding from Temple, suspecting that she was raped and murdered by people in temple administration.

On Saturday, the SIT arrested the anonymous complainant, the `maskman', who has been identified as Chinnaiah from Mandya, who had worked as a grave digger in Dharmasthala till 2014.

After grilling for two days, Chinnaiah admitted that he was just acting upon the directions of a `team', who promised to pay him money. The SIT also learnt that Chinnaiah had started visiting Ujire, an adjacent town to Dharmasthala, for the last one and a half years.

The SIT produced Chinnaiah before the magistrate and obtained his custody for 10 days for further interrogation. The SIT has also got Chinnaiah's brother Tanosi, who is working as a Municipality staff at Ujire.

Meanwhile, Mahesh Shetty Thimarodi, who was arrested by Brahmavara police on Thursday, has obtained bail from Udipi court. The SIT has applied for a body warrant for Thimarodi, but now has to get an arrest warrant against him.

On Saturday, the SIT summoned former police turned activist Girish Mattannanavar for two hours and got a written statement from him. He has been asked not to leave Belthangadi town and come for questioning whenever summoned.

The SIT is on the lookout for the YouTuber M D Sameer, who is absconding even after getting bail from the Mangaluru court. 

The biggest twist came to the story when Sujatha Bhat, who had claimed that her daughter Ananya Bhat, a Medical student at Manipal, went missing from temple premises. She had refused to lodge a complaint with the police or SIT, but was making claims in front of the media.

Soon after the arrest of Thimarodi, and SIT started questioning Chinnaiah, and Sujatha Bhat confessed that she never had a daughter at all. Admitting that she had lied, Sujatha Bhat said that she was angry with the Dharmasthala Temple administration, as they did not make her a party while her grandfather sold his property to the temple trust.

But, she went on changing her statement. First, she said that she was asked by Thimarodi and Mattannanavar to concoct the story of Ananya Bht, so that they would help her in getting her property rights back.

Later, she said that no one told her to concoct the story, but she only said it to take revenge on the Dharmasthala temple. "In the first place, I was not considered when my grandfather's property was sold. Secondly, it is a Hindu temple and the administration is done by Jains, which angered me,'' she added.

The SIT has decided to take Sujatha Bhat also for questioning.