Mangaluru, 30 Aug

The SIT, probing the allegations of multiple rapes, murders and burials in Dharmasthala over a period of the past two decades, on Saturday took the arrested witness-complainant to undisclosed locations for a spot mahazar, police sources said.

According to information available from the sources in the district police, the complainant is being taken to Bengaluru, where he allegedly got the human skull; the SIT team escorted him under tight security around 6 am to conduct mahazars at sites linked to his statements. The officials also said they had seized documents during the exercise.

However, there has been no official word on the exact locations where the complainant was taken. "The process was carried out early in the morning in view of security concerns. Details of the places visited and documents secured cannot be disclosed at this stage," a source familiar with the investigation said.

A controversy erupted after a complainant was arrested on charges of perjury, claiming to have buried several bodies, including those of women with signs of sexual assault, in Dharmasthala over a period of time, with the implications pointing towards the administrators of the local temple. The BJP had protested against targeting the temple. Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar had also warned of action if the complaint was found to be false.

Veerendra Heggade, the Dharmadhikari or the custodian of the temple, too, had welcomed the constitution of the SIT.