Whistleblower Arrested, Missing Girl Claim Retracted in Dharmasthala Mass Burial Case

Mangaluru, August 23: What began as a potentially explosive investigation into decades of alleged abuse and secret burials in Dharmasthala now appears to be collapsing under the weight of contradictions, recanted testimonies, and political mudslinging. The man who first brought the disturbing allegations to light a former sanitation worker has been arrested. The very person who pointed to supposed graves along the Netravathi River, who claimed he’d buried victims with his own hands, is now accused of making it up.

On Friday night, after hours of quiet build-up, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) took him into custody. They say his story doesn’t hold up. Not anymore.

The Case That Started With Bones

In early July, the narrative had gripped Karnataka. Thirteen burial sites were identified. Digging began. Media circled. For a moment, it looked like one of India’s holiest temple towns might be hiding something unimaginable.

There were remains, yes. A skull here. Bone fragments there. Two of the sites yielded something. The rest, nothing. And slowly, almost imperceptibly at first, the story started to unravel. The complainant’s timeline shifted. Names got muddled. The locations weren’t as precise as he’d first claimed. Forensic teams raised red flags.

Then came Friday. Arrest. No press conference. Just a terse confirmation from an SIT source: “Inconsistencies in documents, in statements, and in facts. He’s in custody.”

That’s it.

A Girl Who Was Never Missing

As the SIT was dealing with the fallout of the arrest, another key piece of the case vanished this time figuratively. Sujatha Bhat, the Bengaluru woman who had filed a missing person report about her daughter “Ananya,” admitted she made the story up.

“I never had a daughter named Ananya,” she told Hindustan Times, adding that she was “emotionally manipulated” by activists involved in the case. Her reason? A property dispute. Personal, not political. Yet her fabricated claim became one of the pillars propping up the mass burial narrative.

It took weeks, and now she says she regrets it. But the damage is done. Her statement lent credibility to the original whistleblower’s claims. Without it, everything looks shakier.

Misinformation, Legal Trouble, and a Booked Advocate

As if the case needed more complexity, an advocate, Manjunath N, now finds himself in legal trouble too. He’s been booked by Belthangady police for allegedly spreading false information about the investigation particularly around what the SIT was or wasn’t doing.

He had gone public, claimed there was a cover-up, said the SIT was dragging its feet. That’s now landed him in the crosshairs. He’s been charged under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita provisions meant to prevent obstruction of official duty.

Local officers say his statements stirred panic and interfered with the investigation. Whether that leads to a trial or fades out quietly remains to be seen.

Temples, Faith, and Outrage

As the case twisted and turned, public emotion surged. Dharmasthala, after all, is not just a town it’s sacred ground for lakhs of devotees. The idea that it might be the site of systematic abuse was too much for many to believe. But now that the allegations are unravelling, the backlash is fierce.

The Dharmasthala Bhaktabhimani Vedike, a vocal devotees’ forum, is pushing back hard. They’ve gone public, called the entire saga a “malicious campaign,” and demanded that bigger agencies like the CBI, NIA, and ED step in not to investigate the temple, but to investigate those they believe tried to defame it.

“They brought in a skull to court. Whose skull is it? Where’s it from?” one member told The Times of India. “This whole thing feels scripted.”

They say this wasn’t an accident it was an attack. And they want accountability, not just closure.

The Political Earthquake Beneath It All

It was only a matter of time before the political fuse was lit. The BJP, sensing an opportunity, has gone on the offensive. State President B. Y. Vijayendra called it a “deliberate attempt to defame Hindu institutions,” and said the Congress government looked the other way as the narrative took root.

Opposition leader R. Ashoka didn’t mince words either. “Urban Naxals are at work,” he said. “And the CM is shielding them.”

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s office responded with caution. “The SIT is functioning independently,” a spokesperson said. But on the ground, that line is getting harder to sell. Every new twist now comes with political undertones.

One side sees a conspiracy to desecrate a revered site. The other warns against silencing potential truths before all the facts are out.

Still Digging But Not Just In the Dirt

The SIT says it’s still investigating. Forensic reports from Kasturba Medical College and Bengaluru labs are pending. Nothing final yet. Just more waiting.

But the bigger dig might now be sociopolitical. Into how such a massive story burial grounds, skulls, rape, abuse gained traction without stronger verification. Into why a former worker and a grieving woman felt compelled to invent.

And into how something that began with whispered secrets in a village became a nationwide controversy and then, seemingly, a cautionary tale.

There’s no resolution yet. Just questions. Lots of them. And silence from Dharmasthala.

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Sandeep Verma

Community Reporter – [email protected] – Web

Regional journalist bringing grassroots perspectives and stories from towns and cities across India.

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