The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Dharmasthala mass burial allegations has filed a complaint report against activists Mahesh Thimmarodi and Girish Mattanavar and Dharmasthala residents Jayan T and Vittal Gowda, accusing them of perjury and criminal conspiracy in connection with a skull that was planted as evidence. 

The charges are linked to a skull produced by a man named Chinnaiah, who had gone to the police in July 2025, claiming that he had buried several bodies illegally in Dharmasthala. Chinnaiah has also been named as an accused.

However, the SIT’s investigation found that the skull had not been exhumed by Chinnaiah himself but was handed over to him by others to embellish his claims. During questioning, Chinnaiah admitted this and named Mahesh, Girish, and the others as those who gave him the skull.

Mahesh Shetty Thimmarodi, a former member of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, later broke away to form the Rashtriya Hindu Jagarana Vedike. He has been associated with the Justice for Sowjanya movement — a campaign seeking justice for Sowjanya, a teenager who was raped and murdered in 2012 in Dharmasthala. Her killers were never found.

Girish Mattennavar, a former police officer turned activist, has been working with Thimmarodi in the Justice for Sowjanya movement.

Vittal Gowda, Sowjanya’s uncle, was the last person to see her before she went missing and was later found raped and murdered. He has also been closely associated with Thimmarodi’s efforts to seek justice.

Jayan T, a social activist and relative of 17-year-old Padmalatha, who went missing in Dharmasthala in December 1986 and whose body was found 56 days later, has likewise been working with Thimmarodi in similar cases. 

Though Chinnaiah had told the police that he did not exhume the skull himself, sources said the SIT’s task was to establish how the skull reached him. According to the complaint report, the investigation found that Vittal Gowda had gone to a place called Bangalagudda in Dharmasthala and recovered the skull along with another person. Vittal also recorded a video of the act, which was allegedly handed over to Girish Mattennavar.

SIT’s findings 

The skull was retrieved by Vittal in February 2024 and stored at the foothill. In 2025, Jayant, according to the SIT, travelled with the skull by train in a bid to produce it before the Supreme Court. The plan was shelved, but a picture of the skull was submitted to Justice BV Nagarathna. The judge dismissed the petition and noted, “It is not a Public Interest Litigation in the true sense but one which can also be termed as ‘Publicity Interest Litigation’, ‘Paisa Interest Litigation’, ‘Private Interest Litigation’ or Political Interest Litigation.”

After the FIR was registered by the Dharmasthala police, Chinnaiah handed over the skull to them on July 11. 

In recent weeks, the SIT excavated a small area on the Banglagudda hill and recovered eight skulls and several other human remains. According to the SIT, many residents, including Vittal Gowda, were aware of this site, which is how they were able to retrieve the skull earlier. All the recovered remains have now been sent for forensic examination.

The SIT retrieved the ID cards of UB Ayyappa of T Shettigeri village in Kodagu district and Adishesha Narayana from Gubbi in Tumakuru district.

Initially, Chinnaiah had claimed that he had buried hundreds of bodies in Dharmasthala, mostly of women and girls who had been sexually harassed. He also alleged that these burials were carried out illegally.

After the exhumation was completed, Chinnaiah changed his earlier statement and gave a fresh version to both the police and the magistrate. In this new statement, Chinnaiah claimed that he had buried ten bodies in Dharmasthala, including that of a woman who had suffered burn injuries. A source said that the SIT, in its complaint report, has noted that this particular claim will be investigated further.

While Chinnaiah has been charged with perjury, the other four – Mahesh Thimmarodi, Girish Mattenavar, Jayant and Vittal Gowda – have been booked for perjury and criminal conspiracy.

The SIT will continue to investigate the other allegations made by Chinnaiah.

This report was republished from The News Minute as part of The News Minute-Newslaundry alliance. Read about our partnership here.

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