P Sandosh Kumar, Communist Party of India (CPI) Rajya Sabha MP from Kerala, has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah seeking a National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe into what he described as a “disturbing and organised pattern of crimes” in Karnataka, with reference to the Dharmasthala mass burial case.
Kumar has sought a thorough probe into the shocking claims of mass abuse, disappearances, and unnatural deaths, many reportedly targeting women and minors.
In his letter dated July 19, Kumar pointed to decades of unsolved cases, claiming they reveal “systematic violence, concealment, and administrative silence” in the temple town, a major pilgrimage centre in Dakshina Kannada district.
Kumar cited a chilling confession made by a former temple sanitation worker, who alleged that between 1995 and 2014, he was forced to dispose of over 500 bodies, many of them women and minors subjected to sexual assault. The MP warned that “recent developments have brought to the fore a grim reality that cannot be ignored”.
“Only an agency with full authority and a clear mandate can unravel the extent of this alleged criminal network, identify those responsible, and restore faith in the justice system,” Kumar wrote.
He also attacked the Karnataka government for not forming a credible Special Investigation Team (SIT) earlier, despite years of public protests.
The matter came to wider attention following a letter submitted to the police by a man claiming he had been coerced into burying several bodies in Dharmasthala. He later testified before a magistrate in Beltangady court.
Amid mounting public concern, Karnataka’s Home Minister G Parameshwara confirmed a preliminary inquiry was underway.
However, he questioned the urgency behind demands for an SIT, stating, “When a preliminary inquiry is ongoing, why is there a demand for an SIT? What is the police department for, then?”
However, on July 19, the Karnataka government did set up an SIT to look into the matter. The SIT, headed by Director General of Police (Internal Security Division) Pranav Mohanty, includes senior officers from multiple departments.
The probe team has been granted authority to investigate all related cases statewide and will function using resources from the Dakshina Kannada District Police Office.
The move follows a formal request from Karnataka State Women’s Commission Chairperson Nagalakshmi Choudhary, who cited media reports, court testimonies, and the discovery of a human skull in the area as cause for alarm.
“These reports point to a disturbing pattern of abuse, unnatural deaths, and disappearances of women and female students spanning more than 20 years,” the Commission said.
A case has already been registered at Dharmasthala Police Station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The SIT will submit regular updates and a full investigation report to the government via the state Director General of Police (DGP).
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With agency inputs