Dharmasthala Case: 'Mass Burial' Complainant Arrested By SIT For Perjury—Here's What Has Happened So Far

The Karnataka Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Saturday (23 August) arrested a former sanitation worker whose complaint triggered the investigation into alleged mass burials in Dharmasthala, The Indian Express reported.

The complainant, who had so far appeared before the panel wearing a mask, has been identified as C N Chinnaiah, according to police information reported by news agency PTI.

Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara confirmed the arrest, saying it was part of efforts to find the truth behind the allegations.

The complainant, a former sanitation worker at the Dharmasthala Manjunatha Swamy Temple was arrested for perjury after inconsistencies were found in the statements and documents provided by him. He has been remanded to police custody.

Chinnaiah had earlier told investigators that he buried dozens of bodies in suspicious cases between 1995 and 2014.

On 11 July, he appeared before a Belthangady magistrate to record his statement.

Acting on his inputs, the SIT carried out searches from 29 July to 12 August at 13 sites, but recovered remains at only one.

According to the IE report, investigators are looking at a potential conspiracy to malign the administrators of the Sree Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara Temple Trust and its dharmadhikari Veerendra Heggade, a Rajya MP associated with the BJP.

Earlier on 21 August, one of the chief activists behind the campaign to investigate the “secret burials”, Mahesh Thimaroddy, was arrested by the police in Udupi district for allegedly defaming the BJP national secretary B L Santhosh.

On 15 July, a woman who claimed her daughter, a Manipal medical student, went missing in 2003, filed a complaint.

Later, in a YouTube video and to reporters, she retracted parts of her statement, claiming she was pressured by others to make allegations.

The woman reportedly indicated she did not have a daughter and said, “Some people came to me and asked me to make these allegations. Due to this, I had to say it," IE reported.

Then, on Thursday (21 August) evening, she told reporters she was forced by the YouTube channel to claim that she had filed the complaint due to a property dispute with the temple.

“They promised to help me,” she claimed.

Clarifying on her statement that she did not have a daughter, the woman claimed that she was made to say so.

The case has also sparked political tensions, with the BJP demanding that the probe be handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), alleging a larger conspiracy backed by “foreign funds, forces and conversion lobbies” to malign the temple and Hindu traditions.

Leader of Opposition R Ashoka said the arrest of complainant C N Chinnaiah alone was “not enough” and insisted that the real conspirators behind him must be exposed.

“This seems to have a religious conversion angle, and it needs to be investigated. For the government to prove it is conducting a fair probe and not insulting Hindus, they should form a separate SIT or hand it to the NIA,” he said.

BJP state president B Y Vijayendra echoed the demand, alleging that international and national media were used to amplify a slander campaign against Dharmasthala.

“Who are the forces behind this? Who hatched the conspiracy? All of them need to be unmasked, and strict legal action taken,” he said, calling the episode a “systematic conspiracy against Indians’ feelings and traditions.”

Several Congress MLAs have demanded the probe be stopped to safeguard Dharmasthala’s reputation.

Deputy CM D K Shivakumar said the Congress had “no doubt” about the temple’s service but could not ignore complaints, while warning against a conspiracy to tarnish a centuries-old legacy.

On 21 August, police arrested activist Mahesh Thimaroddy in Udupi for allegedly defaming BJP national secretary B L Santhosh. The probe has since come under growing pressure due to lack of evidence, with Home Minister Parameshwara stating it must continue until the SIT completes its investigation.

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