Hot on the heels of Karnataka State Commission for Women Chairperson Nagalakshmi Choudhary requesting an investigation by Special Investigation Team (SIT) into suspected clandestine burial of corpses at Dharmasthala a decade ago, the lawyers for the complainant in the case have also preferred an SIT probe.
On July 15, campaigners Ojaswi Gowda and Sachin Deshpande said: "We believe an SIT is indeed the most appropriate and necessary mechanism to unearth the truth and deliver justice in this profoundly disturbing case."
Given the serious allegations that have arisen out of Dharmasthala, the setting up of a highly independent and very capable SIT is not only desirable, but is necessary in order to ensure justice to the victims. The peculiar and very distressing facts and circumstances of this case call for an investigation technique which will command public confidence.
The two said the larger advocate community as a whole has jointly compelled them to demand the establishment of an SIT 'under strict and ethical conditions'.
On July 14, Karnataka State Commission for Women Chairperson Nagalakshmi Choudhary wrote to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah that the scope of the investigation by SIT should cover probing cases of missing women and girl students, unnatural deaths, murders, and rapes reported in the village in the past two decades.
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The letter further added that an allegation has been made that when victims of crime approached the police station, the police did not act in a proper manner. Therefore, an SIT headed by top police officers should be formed to investigate the complaint of the complainant.
On July 12, Dakshina Kannada police placed on record that they will need to find out with the complainant if they would need to replace the Investigation Officer (IO), or if they would need to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate his complaint. Police will also need to find out with the advocates who appear on behalf of the complainant if they knew of the demand, a police statement said.
Background of the case
On 3rd July, an individual lodged a complaint with Dharmasthala police that he was compelled to bury bodies of numerous individuals, both women and children, who were reportedly raped and killed in Dharmasthala. He stated that he buried the bodies when he worked as a sanitation worker in Dharmasthala between 1995 and December 2014.
Dharmasthala police registered a case on July 4 after taking permission from a court for an offence under Section 211 (a) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
On July 11, the complainant presented some of the skeletal remains of a body, which he said he had dug out on his own, in front of the Principal Civil Judge and Judicial Magistrate First Class, Belthangady court, and made a statement in the same regard.
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