The Special Investigation Team (SIT) has so far recovered 100 bone fragments from multiple sites flagged in the Dharmasthala mass burial case in Karnataka. The remains, discovered during excavations at Site 6 and Site 11-A, mark the most substantial physical evidence yet in a case that spans alleged killings over 16 years.
On Monday, skeletal remains were found at Site 11-A, approximately 100 meters away from Site 11. Forensic experts are examining the samples for confirmation. No new findings were reported from Tuesday’s digging at the same site.
With only two locations, Sites 12 and 13, remaining from the original 15 flagged spots, SIT sources said they remain open to expanding the search area if necessary. Rainfall continues to hamper the pace of the operation, forcing temporary halts in digging.
However, advocates representing one of the complainants claimed that at least three human remains were discovered yesterday from Site 11-A. They said the digging, carried out on a steep hilltop, yielded remains of which one was allegedly a woman. A saree was also reportedly recovered from the same spot.
Top police sources have dismissed the claim, saying no such remains were found or confirmed during the operation.
Advocate Manjunath N, who represents Sujatha Bhat, the mother of Ananya Bhat, a medical student who disappeared in 2003, praised the SIT’s efforts and defended the decision to allow the complainant, Bhima, to revise the location based on memory.
“It would be unscientific and meaningless to insist he limit himself to earlier measurements,” the advocate stated in a press note. “The SIT’s flexibility and the team’s work so far have been commendable.”
The whistleblower in the case, a former sanitation worker, alleges he was coerced into disposing of the bodies of women and minors, many of whom bore signs of sexual assault, between 1998 and 2014. The alleged burial spots are spread across the banks of the Nethravathi River, the highway, and nearby forested areas in Dharmasthala.
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