Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru

Mangaluru, Sep 14: Activist Mahesh Shetty Thimarody has submitted a formal complaint to the Special Investigation Team (SIT), currently probing the alleged mass burials in Dharmasthala, urging the agency to reopen investigations into a series of suspicious deaths reported between 2006 and 2010.

The complaint, filed with SIT chief Pranab Mohanty, highlights four unidentified deaths that reportedly occurred inside guest houses during that four-year period. Thimarody claims the incidents were suspicious in nature and alleges that RTI documents reveal irregularities in the classification and burial of the bodies.

According to the complaint, all four bodies were buried through local gram panchayats, having been declared as ‘unclaimed’, which may have allowed them to bypass more thorough investigation. “There is a suspicion that all these could be murders,” Thimarody stated, urging the SIT to register FIRs and treat the deaths as suspected homicides.

The deaths include an unidentified male aged approximately 50 to 55 years, reported on 28 February 2006; an unidentified woman reported on 13 April 2006; a male aged around 30 to 35 years, reported on 3 August 2007; and another unidentified male reported on 28 September 2010. All four were reportedly registered in police records as Unidentified Death Reports (UDRs), but Thimarody has questioned the circumstances under which they were declared unclaimed and buried.

Meanwhile, in a parallel development, Vittal Gowda, uncle of Sowjanya—a minor who was raped and murdered in Dharmasthala in 2012—has made fresh claims related to the ongoing investigation. In a video that went viral on Thursday, Gowda alleged that human remains, including bones and skulls, were discovered during a spot mahazar at Banglagudde.

He claimed that bones belonging to multiple individuals were recovered, including those of a child, and further alleged that articles used in vamachara (black magic) rituals were also found at the site. “I am ready to cooperate with the SIT fully,” Gowda said.

In a related court development, Pradeep, a close associate of Gowda, was produced before a judge in Beltangady to record his statement in connection with the mass burial case. Meanwhile, the court has reserved its order on the bail application of the complainant-witness, with a decision expected on 16 September.