DHARMASTHALA, 2 AUG

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the alleged mass burial case in Dharmasthala resumed exhumation on Saturday at the ninth site identified by the complainant, police said.

Officials reached the location adjacent to the Nethravathi riverbank along the Ujire-Dharmasthala-Kokkada state highway around 11.30am, marking the fifth consecutive day of exhumation activity.

The SIT planned to exhume four adjacent sites in the presence of the complainant. These sites are among the 15 locations pinpointed by the anonymous complainant-witness, who claimed that he had buried multiple human bodies along the riverbank over several years.

Dakshina Kannada district police maintained a protective cordon around the sites. A green fabric barricade was erected to prevent unauthorised visual access. Traffic on the highway, however, continues to operate normally.

The SIT team, assisted by labourers, machinery operators, and mechanical grass-cutting tools, have begun the work at site No 9.

On 31 July, skeletal remains recovered from a site were sent for forensic examination. The SIT investigation continues under tight secrecy.

The SIT was formed by the State government after allegations emerged of mass murder, rape, and illegal burials in Dharmasthala over the past two decades.