SIT Probe Into Dharmasthala ‘Mass Burial’ Charges Shifts Focus To Complainant And Activists After 16 Failed Excavations

Bengaluru: The SIT, probing into allegations against Dharmasthala temple administration of "illegal mass burial" of raped and murdered women, is now digging up the "True Lies" behind the charges.

SIT Scrutinises Masked Complainant After 16 Failed Excavations

Failing to find anything substantial after excavating over 16 spots shown by the 'masked' complainant, who chose to remain anonymous, SIT has turned its focus on the complainant and the activists supporting him.

That include the kingpin of the entire episode, Mahesh Shetty Thimarodi, YouTuber Sameer and Sujatha Bhat, who claimed that her daughter Ananya Bhat went missing from the temple premises and alleged that she had been raped and murdered.

The biggest development happened on Thursday morning, when the Brahmavar police in Udipi district arrested Mahesh Shetty Thimarodi, who is leading the activists, protesting against the temple administration into their custody. However, the case was not related to Dharmasthala illegal mass burial, but his derogatory remarks against senior BJP leader BL Santhosh.

He was remanded to 14 days in judicial custody, while bail application will be heard on August 24.

AI-Generated Video Sparks Row; Police Book Sameer, Hunt On

The Dharmasthala police have also registered a suo motu case against Sameer, who created a sensation through his AI generated video against Dharmasthala temple and its administration. Sameer, who has applied for anticipatory bail in Bengaluru court, is absconding now.

Meanwhile, the SIT officials have dug out the personal details of the 'maskman', who hailed from Chikkahalli in Mandya district. They also tracked Raju, who used to work with the maskman in digging graves.

Raju denied that any body was buried illegally. "There used to be unidentified bodies and during such incidents, police and doctors would come. Later, panchayat officials would give a certificate to bury the body," he said.

The most strange case involves Sujatha Bhat, who was neither married, nor had any daughter. The photograph she produced turned out to be that of Vasanthi. Bhat worked as caretaker of Vasanthi's father-in-law. However, Vasanthi died in 2008 and her brother recognised the photo of his sister.

Bhat's ancestral property at Ujire was purchased by Dharmasthala temple administration to build SDM college. The property was sold by her grandfather. Recently, she approached the temple authority and demanded that her share of money in the property should be given to her. However, her brother clarified that the transaction had taken place during his grandfather's lifetime and their family was not entitled for any compensation now. After failing to get money from the temple administration, Bhat approached Thimarodi, who asked her to join the agitation against the temple administration and Dr Veerendra Hegde.

(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)