Karnataka’s Opposition BJP on Monday demanded the National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe the Dharmasthala secret burials case and announced a massive “Dharmasthala Chalo” rally, days after the complainant in the case was arrested for allegedly giving false information by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) inquiring into his claims.
The SIT started the investigation after C N Chinnaiah, a former sanitation worker, filed a police complaint in July claiming that he had been forced to secretly bury several bodies of suspected sexual assault victims in the temple town between 1998 and 2014.
BJP state president B Y Vijayendra said that only an NIA probe would instill confidence among the public and devotees. A massive rally will be held at Dharmasthala on September 1 to press for this demand, he said, urging the Hindu community across the state to participate in the event.
He alleged that the state government’s handling of the case and its subsequent handover to the SIT had tarnished the reputation of Dharmasthala. “A thorough investigation by the NIA is essential to uncover the organisation and malicious forces behind the row,” he said.
Vijayendra further alleged that some forces could conspire against other Hindu temples in a similar manner.
The announcement came on the day Jayanagar MLA C K Ramamurthy of the BJP led a rally to Dharmasthala. A man died in a road accident during the rally. “Once we return from Dharmasthala, we will make sure that we offer him our respects,” he said.
In the recently concluded Monsoon Session of the state legislature, the Opposition had raised the allegations of Dharmasthala being defamed.
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JD(S) legislators too are taking out rallies to Dharmasthala to condemn the “conspiracy to defame” the temple town. Former minister Sa Ra Mahesh, who along with another former minister C S Puttaraju visited the town with his supporters on Monday, told reporters that the Government should not have “hastily” handed over the case to the SIT.
“There was a conspiracy to defame the town. Our demand is that people behind the conspiracy are arrested,” he said.
On August 23, Congress MLA M A Gopalaswamy visited Dharmasthala along with his supporters. “The BJP wants to politicise it. They should let the investigation continue,” he said, adding that BJP MP and Dharmadhikari of the temple town, Veerendra Heggade, himself had welcomed the investigation.
The Government said last week in the Assembly that it had instituted the SIT probe to bring out the truth. The BJP then staged a walkout accusing the Government of being part of the “conspiracy to tarnish the image” of the temple town.