Dharmasthala Row: Karnataka Govt Shifts Focus To Masked Complainant As BJP Steps Up Political Heat

Bengaluru, Aug 16: After failing to find anything in the places shown by the masked man, claiming to had buried hundreds of raped and murderede women bodies at Dharmasthala, the Karnataka government has shifted its focus on the complainant himself.

While the Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar has continued to say that the government would not spare anyone trying to tarnish the image of Dharmasthala and hurting sentiments of Hindus, Home Minister Dr G Parameshwar said that questioning the complainant and investigating his background and his supporters was well within the scope of SIT, if they fail to find any truth in his earlier statements.

Over 1,000 BJP activists stage show of strength

On Saturday, Shivakumar lashed out at BJP, saying that they were politicising the issue. Over 1000 BJP activists in 300 cars in the leadership of BJP MLA R Vishwanath arrived at Dharmasthala on Saturday. On Sunday, BJP State President B Y Vijayendra and others would be reaching Dharmasthala, where they would be expressing their solidarity with the temple administration. Shivakumar said that the BJP was only interested in exploiting the issue for political purposes.

``When the `maskman' lodged a complaint, the BJP did not say anything. Why did they not say anything when we formed the SIT? We are interested in protecting the honour of Dharmasthala, we don’t want politics. The culprits must be punished,'' Shivakumar said.

New missing woman case linked to Dharmasthala surfaces

"The SIT was formed after the maskman made a statement under 164 before the magistrate. We have to verify his statement before the magistrate before going ahead with other investigations. Now, there have been false complaints lodged in front of police also. Besides, another person has come, stating that his sister, who had come to Dharmasthala a few years ago has gone missing. We have to verify the facts before initiating any action,'' he said.

Stating that the government was still committed to protect the honour of Dharmasthala , Shivakumar said that those hatching conspiracy to defame the place or hurt the sentiments of the devotees will not be spared.

Home Minister: SIT empowered to probe beyond digging

Answering a question on BJP demand for a narco analysis test for the maskman, Shivakumar said that the demand was not wrong. ``However, we don't want to interfere with the investigation of SIT. They will decide where to dig and how much more to dig and whether a naro analysis test was needed and at what point it would be needed,'' he said.

False complaints under police lens as conspiracy angle emerges

On BJP leaders welcoming his statement on conspiracy in Dharmasthala case, Shivakumar said: ``I said it from my personal experience. But I do not want to interfere in the investigation. Our leaders raised their voice in favour of Dharmasthala much earlier than the BJP leaders. Our CM will not let injustice happen in this case. Law will take its own course. Action will be taken against culprits.''

Government promises strict action against those defaming Dharmasthala

Meanwhile, Home Minister Dr G Parameshwar said that the SIT had scope beyond listening to the maskman and digging at the spots shown by him. ``We have given them complete freedom in investigation. But, the investigation will not stop at finding or not finding the bodies. If the bodies are not found, they will also investigate other aspects of the case on why false claims have been made and who are behind it. They will carry out the investigation in their own phase, so that there are no faults in their findings,'' Dr Parameshwar added.