Dharmasthala case explained: The latest findings and unanswered questions

A lot has happened since we last spoke about the Dharmasthala case. And because we’ve been following this story closely and reporting on it through all these developments, I thought it was time we sat down and made sense of where things stand.  

Last year, the focus was on Chinnaiah - the masked man who came forward with massive claims about mass burials in and around Dharmasthala.

But that story eventually fell apart.

The state government constituted a Special Investigation Team, or SIT, to investigate his allegations. But instead of the hundreds of bodies that Chinnaiah had initially claimed he had buried, the excavations unearthed just two skeletons- both male.

Chinnaiah subsequently changed his version. He was arrested, and the SIT initiated perjury proceedings against him.  He has also alleged that he was forced by a few people to make these claims and they were also booked by  the police.

But now, there are new developments. The Karnataka State Women’s Commission has written to the state government asking for the SIT’s mandate to be expanded.

Why? 

Because the SIT in its status report to the Commission points at discrepancies in records relating to Unnatural Death Reports, or UDRs. The SIT also found remains of 7 people at a location called Banglegudde.  Then there has been another major development: the Supreme Court has ordered a fresh investigation into the 2012 rape and murder of 17-year-old Sowjanya.

So, what exactly are all these developments?

Let Me Explain.

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Produced by Megha Mukundan, script by Dhanya Rajendran, Shivani Kava, camera by Ajay R, edit by Nikhil Sekhar ET