In the ongoing investigation into the sensational Dharmasthala mass burial case, no human remains of any females allegedly buried at the sites pointed out by the sanitation worker, who claimed to have conducted mass burials, have been exhumed by the Special Investigation Team (SIT).
The SIT started the process of digging at the sites pointed out by the sanitation worker on 29th July. Five sites, out of the total 13 sites identified by the sanitation worker, were dug up by the SIT by 30th July, but no human remains were discovered. On the morning of 31st July, SIT exhumed some human remains at the sixth site, which is located in the forest area near the Netravathi river. An SIT official reportedly said that the prima facie examination of the remains by a forensic doctor indicated that they belonged to a human male.
However, a conclusive statement about the human remains could only be made after a proper forensic examination. The police reportedly found around 15 bones at the site, some of which were broken, but no skull was found. As of August 3rd, the police had carried out digging at 10 sites.
In addition to that, the SIT discovered a debit card belonging to a woman and a PAN card belonging to a man. When the investigation team tracked down the owner of the PAN Card, they reached his family. The PAN Card reportedly belonged to a man named Suresh, from Nelamangala taluk in Bengaluru Rural district. His father told the team that Suresh was an alcoholic and died of jaundice in March 2025. The investigation team suspects that he might have lost his PAN Card during his visit to Dharmasthala before his death. The SIT has asked for the details of the woman who owned the debit card from the bank.
Since no significant discoveries have been made during the excavations at the sites pointed out by the sanitation worker, this raises suspicions over the claims of the sanitation worker regarding the mass burials of dead bodies, most of which were allegedly women and girls. The investigation so far does not point at any foul play as alleged by the sanitation worker.
An “eyeswitness” appears before the SIT
An individual named Jayanth T appeared before the SIT in Belthangady on Saturday (2nd August), claiming that he could provide testimony about the alleged mass burials. He reportedly told the media that he had first-hand knowledge of multiple “unlawful burials” as he personally observed these burials at multiple locations.
Judge hearing the mass burial case recuses himself
Meanwhile, Judge Vijaya Kumar Rai B of the 10th Additional City and Civil Sessions Court in Bengaluru has recused himself from the hearing of the Dharmasthala mass burial case. The judge placed an application before the Principal City Civil Sessions Judge requesting that the case be moved to another court.
This comes after some journalists and activists raised concerns about the judge having studied in educational institutions run by the Dharmasthala temple trust. He is also said to have worked as a junior lawyer in a firm which represented Rajya Sabha MP Veerendra Heggade, whose brother D Harshendra Kumar had filed a plea seeking the removal of over 8,000 digital links, including news reports, social media posts, and videos. In his plea, Kumar stated that the media reports and social media posts contained defamatory content against him, his family, the Dharmasthala temple, and related institutions.
On the plea of D Harshendra Kumar, Judge Vijaya Kumar Rai B had passed an ex parte injunction prohibiting media coverage and commentary on the ongoing investigation into the allegations of the mass burials.
The mysterious sanitation worker and the chilling allegations
The case came to light a couple of months ago, when the mysterious sanitation worker came out of thin air and alleged that he was forced to bury hundreds of dead bodies at different locations in the temple town of Dharmasthala between 1998 and 2014. The sanitation worker, who was employed by the Lord Manjunatha shrine in Dharmasthala, filed a complaint with the police on June 3, 2025. An SIT was formed by the state government on 19th July to investigate his allegations.
The SIT took him to the bathing ghat in Dharmasthala, where he pointed out 13 alleged burial sites. In his complaint, he claimed that many of the dead bodies he buried were of women and minor girls who were sexually assaulted. His complaint was followed by the complaint of a 60-year-old woman named Sujatha, whose daughter had gone missing while on a trip to the pilgrimage town of Dharmasthala.