‘Buried over 100 bodies of girls, women’: Dharmasthala in spotlight after ex-sanitation worker’s shocking confession

A former sanitation worker in the Dharmasthala village, who confessed to burying over a hundred bodies of the victims of “heinous crimes” committed in the temple town before the police, on Friday, recorded his statement before a local court.

The complainant, who claims that he had buried over a hundred bodies under duress, recorded his statement before the Belthangady court under section 183 of BNSS (Section 164 of CrPC), on Friday, after the Dharmasthala police registered the case based on his complaint on July 3.

In his complaint lodged with the Dakshina Kannada Superintendent of Police and the Dharmasthala police station, the sanitation worker has claimed that he was threatened and forced to bury the bodies of girls and women who had been allegedly raped and murdered by the Dharmasthala temple administration between 1995 and 2014.

The complainant has alleged that he had decided to disclose all the information about the heinous crimes after he developed a “guilty conscience”. He recorded his statement before the Belthangady principal civil judge and JMFC Sandesh K, and also produced skeletal remains that he claimed to have secretly exhumed as evidence. The Belthangady police have taken possession of the skeletal remains.

Advocates Ojaswi Gowda and Sachin Deshpande, in a press release, stated that the complainant, who is illiterate and has never been to a court, has asked for one of the advocates to accompany him when he makes his statement. However, the court did not agree to the presence of the advocates.

Also, the complainant has been granted cover and protection under the Witness Protection Scheme 2018.

The man is now in the custody of Belthangady police for further questioning, while the forensic science laboratory (FSL) experts will conduct the inspection of the alleged mass burial sites, pending judicial clearance to exhume and verify the bodies.

The man, whose identity has been kept confidential by the police, has stated that he would disclose the names of the perpetrators of these crimes and also help identify the burial sites, if he is guaranteed legal protection.

Earlier, the DK SP Dr Arun K, in a press release, stated that the complainant claimed he had “secretly” disposed of the bodies of those killed due to criminal activities. Now burdened with guilt, he had expressed his willingness to reveal all details.

Dharmasthala gram panchayat vice president Shrinivas Rao denied the claims made by the complainant and said the panchayat maintained all records for the burial of unclaimed bodies since the 1980s, and the details were available in the annual audit reports since 1989.

“We have records of all unnatural deaths. The police issue a notice in newspapers when they come across unidentified bodies. The body is kept for a week, and if no one claims it, it is buried after the police register an unnatural death report and inform the health department or the local body for burial.

If someone buries bodies without informing the panchayat, it is a big offence,” said Rao, who also clarified the panchayat had no one on its rolls to bury the bodies and usually hired people as the need arises. 

India