The Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara Temple has publicly welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe explosive allegations of mass secret burials of unidentified women’s bodies — many allegedly showing signs of sexual assault — at the revered pilgrimage centre in Dakshina Kannada district.
In an official statement issued on Sunday, temple spokesperson K. Parshwanath Jain expressed confidence in the SIT and called for a thorough, transparent, and high-level investigation. “It is our sincere hope and earnest demand that the SIT conducts the highest level of investigation in this case and brings out the true facts to light,” the release stated.
The controversy erupted earlier this month when a whistleblower claimed to have personally buried multiple women’s bodies in and around Dharmasthala between 1998 and 2014, many of which, he alleged, bore signs of sexual violence. His statement triggered a wave of public outcry and national media scrutiny.
The temple’s response comes amid what Jain described as “widespread debate, speculations, and confusion at the national level,” following the registration of an FIR at the local Dharmasthala police station. Emphasizing the need for transparency, Jain said, “Truth and belief are the strongest foundation for a society’s ethics and faith.”
The case intensified further after a Bengaluru woman came forward, alleging that her daughter disappeared in 2003 during a visit to Dharmasthala. She accused a sitting BJP MP of involvement and demanded the exhumation of her daughter’s remains for a dignified burial.
In response to growing demands from civil society, the Karnataka government formed the SIT on Saturday, entrusting the probe to a high-powered team led by DGP Pronab Mohanty. Other members include DIG M. N. Anucheth, and IPS officers S. K. Sowmylatha and Jitendra Kumar Dayama.
The SIT has reportedly begun its preliminary field assessment and is expected to soon begin forensic analysis and exhumation procedures where needed. With the temple authorities now lending support to the probe, pressure mounts on the state administration to deliver a comprehensive and credible investigation into one of Karnataka’s most disturbing allegations in recent memory.
