A significant development has been reported in the alleged Dharmasthala mass burial case. Amidst the probe into the alleged mass burial, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) has received a complaint regarding the alleged disappearance of a medical student Ananya Bhat who went missing in Dharmasthala in 2003. As per the police, Ananya’s mother Sujata Bhat had filed a complaint on July 15, 2025 at the Dharmasthala Police Station. She had said that her daughter Ananya went missing from the Dharmasthala temple premises in 2003. After a review, the Director General and Inspector General of Police, transferred the case to the SIT for further investigation as reported in PTI.
What is the Dharmasthala mass burial case?
The Dharmasthala mass burial case has been receiving intense scrutiny from all quarters for a long time now. As per the allegations levied by a former sanitation worker, he was forced to cremate the bodies of several women and minors between 1998 and 2014. The former sanitation worker has claimed that many of these bodies showed clear signs of sexual assault. According to an India Today report, the sanitation worker also filed a complaint on July 3 and sought anonymity citing threats to his life. The man also said that he has witnessed some of the killings and was forced to bury or burn the bodies under the death threat.
Which IPS officer resigned from the Special Investigation Team probing the Dharmasthala mass burial case?
Apart from the disclosures made by the sanitation worker, the resignation of an IPS officer Soumyalatha, also dominated the news headlines. IPS officer Soumyalatha, who was part of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed to probe the alleged mass burials and sexual assaults in Karnataka’s Dharmasthala, had resigned from the team. The Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara had confirmed this development. As per an ANI report, the home minister had a conversation with the reporters on July 24 and said that he was not officially informed about it. However, unofficially, the home minister said that he has have come to know that she has written a letter about stepping down from the team.
