Bengaluru, Aug 23
Commenting on the arrest of the unidentified complainant, also referred to as the "masked man", in connection with the alleged Dharmasthala mass grave case, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar stated on Saturday that the state government will take action against whoever is guilty.
He was speaking to the media on Saturday near his residence in Bengaluru.
“We are neither on their (Dharmasthala’s) side nor on this side. We are on the side of justice. All we are saying is, don’t do politics in matters of religion,” said Dy CM D.K. Shivakumar.
When asked about the Dharmasthala case where the complainant witness was arrested and the ‘conspiracy’ angle that he was the first to highlight, he said, “BJP leaders had not spoken about it till then. They were speaking vaguely, not making their stand clear. Only after I raised the issue of ‘conspiracy’ did they start speaking.”
“The family members of the management of Dharmasthala temple themselves came and spoke to the Chief Minister and said that forming the Special Investigation Team (SIT) was a good step," Dy CM Shivakumar stated.
"The investigation is going on. Whoever is guilty, our government will take action against them — the Chief Minister and the Home Minister have both stated this in the Assembly and also in the CLP meeting,” he underlined.
When asked about Sujatha Bhat’s statement that Ananya Bhatt is not her daughter, he said, “The Home Minister will look into it.”
It can be recalled that Sujatha Bhat had lodged a complaint with the SIT that her daughter Ananya Bhat, a medical student, had gone missing in Dharmasthala.
Home Minister G. Parameshwara, confirming the arrest of the unidentified complainant, stated that he has been taken into police custody. The details of the arrest will be provided by the SIT.
“We will know whether anyone is behind him or not only after the investigation. The SIT investigation is continuing, and they will take appropriate decisions.” He further said that the SIT is also questioning Sujatha Bhat, who had initially claimed that her daughter went missing and later withdrew her statement.
Reacting to the development, A.S. Ponnanna, Legal Advisor to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Congress MLA, stated in Mysuru, “Those who lodge complaints also have a responsibility. We have underlined that there should be transparency in the investigation. The government will punish the guilty, no matter who they are. The allegations surrounding the case are political, and they are not correct.”
“The government has emphasised that the honour and respect of the Dharmasthala temple must be maintained during the investigation. Can anyone say that the investigation should not be conducted? It is a crime if a false case is lodged and a situation is created. In this context, the unidentified complainant has been arrested,” Ponnanna added.
In a major development, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Saturday arrested the unidentified complainant, also referred to as the “masked man,” in connection with the alleged Dharmasthala murders case. The masked man has been produced before the court, and the SIT is likely to seek his custody for further investigation.
In a major development on July 11, the unidentified complainant — who claimed he had been forced to bury the bodies of women and girls who were raped and murdered in Dharmasthala — appeared before a court in Mangaluru district and recorded his statement.
He requested that the bodies be exhumed in his presence and alleged that the victims bore clear signs of sexual assault. According to him, the bodies were found without clothing or undergarments and had injuries consistent with violent sexual abuse.
These revelations have sent shockwaves across Karnataka. However, after extensive excavation operations at the suspected burial sites, the authorities failed to obtain any substantial evidence regarding his claims.
