Karnataka State Commission for Women Chairperson Nagalakshmi Choudhary has urged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the allegation of burial of dead bodies at Dharmasthala in Dakshina Kannada district more than a decade ago.
In a letter to the Chief Minister on July 14, she said the scope of the investigation should cover probing cases of missing women and girl students, unnatural deaths, murders and rapes reported in the village in the past two decades.
A person, who has filed a complaint with Dharmasthala police, has claimed that he buried bodies of many persons, including women and men, who were allegedly murdered and raped in the village. He has given a statement in court on the same.
The letter stated that there are allegations that when family members of victims of crimes went to the police station, police did not respond properly. Hence, an SIT led by senior police officials should be constituted to probe the claim of the complainant.
On July 12, Dakshina Kannada police went on record that they will have to ascertain with the complainant his stand on whether there was a need to change the Investigation Officer (IO), or if there was a need to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe his complaint. Police will also have to ascertain with the advocates representing the complainant whether they were aware of the demand, a police statement stated.
On July 11, the complainant produced some of the skeletal remains of a body, that he claimed to have exhumed on his own, before the Principal Civil Judge and Judicial Magistrate First Class, Belthangady court. Police seized the body parts in front of the advocates representing the complainant and ‘panch’ witnesses.
