No SIT officer refused to probe mass burial case: Parameshwara
The SIT, constituted on Saturday to investigate allegations of mass graves in and around the Dharmasthala temple town, is headed by Pronab Mohanty, DGP (internal security division)
State home minister G Parameshwara on Monday dismissed reports that any officers appointed to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the alleged mass burials in Dharmasthala have sought to be relieved from duty.
“They are competent officers in respectable positions. None of them have said that they won’t be able to do the job,” Parameshwara said in Bengaluru, referring to the IPS officers on the team.
The SIT, constituted on Saturday to investigate allegations of mass graves in and around the Dharmasthala temple town, is headed by Pronab Mohanty, director general of police (internal security division). He will be supported by DIG (recruitment) MN Anucheth, and IPS officers Soumyalatha SK and Jitendra Kumar Dayama.
While some reports indicated that two members of the SIT had sought to be excused from the investigation citing personal reasons, Parameshwara said no such request had officially been made. Mohanty also met the home minister on Monday before formally taking charge. “I haven’t given Mohanty any instructions. He just met to express his gratitude for giving him the job and said that he will do it,” Parameshwara added.
However, speculation persists over DIG Anucheth’s role in the probe. A senior officer familiar with the developments said the DIG had requested to be recused due to a conflict of interest stemming from his supervisory role in the 2012 Soujanya murder case, which is now being linked to the mass burial allegations. “Since the Soujanya case also will come under the purview of this SIT and there is a demand for reinvestigation into the case, he has decided to step aside. However, the police chief has not accepted the request,” the officer said.
{{/usCountry}}However, speculation persists over DIG Anucheth’s role in the probe. A senior officer familiar with the developments said the DIG had requested to be recused due to a conflict of interest stemming from his supervisory role in the 2012 Soujanya murder case, which is now being linked to the mass burial allegations. “Since the Soujanya case also will come under the purview of this SIT and there is a demand for reinvestigation into the case, he has decided to step aside. However, the police chief has not accepted the request,” the officer said.
{{/usCountry}}The case was registered based on a complaint by a 48-year-old Dalit man, a former sanitation worker with the Dharmasthala temple. He alleged that between 1995 and 2014, he was ordered to bury the bodies of women and children, some of whom, he claimed, bore signs of sexual violence. He also submitted skeletal remains to the police, which he said were recovered from one of the burial sites.
Following this, senior BJP leader and former chief minister BS Yediyurappa said, “There is no wrongdoing in Dharmasthala. If a Special Investigation Team wants to investigate, let it be done. There is no problem with that.”
However, his party colleague and former minister CN Ashwath Narayan accused the Congress government of weaponising the investigation.
“The SIT has been formed to divert the issue against the government. They are trying to create suspicion and doubt on Hindu religious institutions,” he said, alleging that the ruling party was using baseless accusations to malign religious bodies. “Let justice be first given to the murder and rape cases that took place during their government,” he added.
The SIT was formed a day after the Dharmasthala temple administration issued its first official response to the case. The temple authority said it welcomed the formation of the SIT and supported an impartial probe.
“Truth and belief form the foundation of a society’s ethics and values. We sincerely hope and strongly urge the SIT to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation and bring the true facts to light,” the official spokesperson for Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala said.
Meanwhile, a Bengaluru court has issued a restraining order against multiple media houses and YouTube channels, barring them from sharing defamatory content against Harshendra Kumar D, brother of Dharmasthala Dharmadhikari Veerendra Heggade, in connection with the case.
Kumar submitted a list of 8,842 defamatory links including thousands of YouTube videos, Facebook and Instagram posts, news articles, and social media posts. He argued that no FIR named him or the temple’s institutions, and one prior case had resulted in acquittal.
With PTI inputs
