A former sanitation worker in Karnataka has written to police that he was forced to bury multiple murder victims over a decade ago. He has come forward to expose what he describes as a systematic cover-up of brutal crimes “out of remorse”.
After his letter was released by advocates Ojaswi Gowda and Sachin Deshpande, the Dharmasthala police in Dakshina Kannada district registered a case on Friday under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita section 211(a) (omission to give information to public servant by a person legally bound to give it).
The complainant, who worked as a sanitation worker in Dharmasthala from 1995 to 2014 and whose identity remains protected for security reasons, also claims he witnessed some murders being committed in a “cruel manner” and that he was subsequently forced to dispose of the bodies.
According to the complaint, the man fled to a neighbouring state after 2014, fearing threats to his life and family. He has requested that he be given police protection, the bodies be exhumed, and the alleged deaths be investigated.
The complainant alleges that his supervisor beat him and threatened him with murder in 1998 when he refused to bury bodies and suggested informing the police. He also claims he was forced to burn some bodies using diesel and bury others in various locations around Dharmasthala village.
When a girl in his family was sexually harassed, the entire family was forced to flee the area. He alleges that “powerful persons” were behind the deaths, and has promised to reveal their identities once adequate protection is provided under the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam.
In the letter, he states that many of the bodies that he buried were of young women and looked like they were sexually assaulted and strangled. “I have buried hundreds of bodies and the final rites were not performed respectfully. The guilt is haunting me and I believe that the final rites should be performed to pave a respectful farewell to the deceased,” he said in the letter.
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The police said they were ready to conduct a thorough investigation, with plans to seek court permission to carry out exhumation at the alleged burial sites.