Big twist in Dharmasthala case, whistleblower arrested for false evidence: Sources

According to sources who spoke to a reputed news organisation, the main whistleblower in the Dharmasthala mass burial case was detained on Saturday for allegedly giving false information to the Karnataka police’s Special Investigation Team (SIT).

After being interrogated through the night until six in the morning today, the former sanitation worker with the Dharmasthala temple administration, who had stated that he had buried 70 to 80 bodies at various locations, was taken into custody. According to police sources, the whistleblower’s first skull was a fake. On suspicion of lying and providing false testimony, he was subsequently taken into custody. Initially, the complainant had excavated a victim’s skull in order to use it as proof to support his allegations in front of the police.

This evening, he will appear before the magistrate. Before appearing in court, the complainant was brought to a nearby hospital for a medical examination.

Only the skeletal remains of one male were discovered at position number six out of the 15 likely locations where he told the SIT he had buried multiple women and minors between 1998 and 2014. He added that no one stopped or questioned them when they were witnessed burying remains during the day by the villagers.

The complainant said that there were indications of sexual abuse on several of the remains he interred over a ten-year period. In this regard, he has also testified before a magistrate. Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara recently told the Assembly that if the SIT determines that the complainant’s claims are untrue, legal action may be taken against him.