DAKSHINA KANNADA, 12 JULY

The statement of a former sanitation worker who lodged a complaint bringing to light the mass burial incident in Dharmasthala in Dakshina Kannada district, was recorded by the Principal Civil judge and JMFC, Belthangady Taluk, Dakshina Kannada. The complainant was also granted protection under the Witness Protection Scheme, 2018.

However, the process has raised concerns among the complainant's legal representatives. He was advised to have his statement recoded in the presence of one of his lawyers as he was illiterate and was unacquainted with the legal procedure involved.

The case came to light after the man filed a police complaint, alleging the secret disposal of hundreds of bodies of women in a village in the Dakshina Kannada district. He claimed he disposed off the bodies on threat while he was employed in Dharmasthala from 1995 to 2014. He suspected the bodies to be of rape victims.

His identity has been kept confidential for security reasons. Driven by guilt, he approached the Superintendent of Police expressing his willingness to fully cooperate with the investigation, on the condition that legal protection is granted to him and his family.

The complainant further offered to share details about the influential people involved and the specific locations where the bodies were disposed.