Dharmasthala town in Karnataka has dominated the headlines recently due to the disclosure of a secret mass burial of women and children revealed by a former sanitation worker. The Karnataka government has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe this case further. According to Deccan Herald, Chandravathy, Dharmasthala mass burial victim Padmalatha’s sister, said that she will support the probe if the SIT decides to investigate the 39-year-old Padmalatha missing case. Chandravathy told the Deccan Herald that her sister Padmalatha had left the home to attend college annual day celebrations and went missing on December 22, 1986.
Padmalatha’s skeletal remains were discovered after 56 days of disappearance with legs and hands tied. According to Chandravathy, her sister’s case was handed over to CBI after police failed to make any breakthrough and the case was declared closed. Now she has hopes from the SIT probe. The SIT will probe the claims of rapes, murders and disappearances over two decades.
Did SIT officers refused to probe the mass burial case?
Some reports had claimed that two SIT officers citing personal reasons, two members of the SIT team had sought to be excused from the investigation. However, State home minister G Parameshwara dismissed such reports.
What is the Dharmasthala Mass Burial Case?
A former sanitation worker has alleged that he was forced to cremate the bodies of several women and minors between 1998 and 2014. He has claimed that many of these bodies showed clear signs of sexual assault. According to an India Today report, the sanitation worker 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.
