Mangaluru: The key whistleblower in the Dharmasthala mass burial case has made shocking allegations, claiming he personally buried 70–80 bodies at one of the identified locations alone. Speaking to India Today, the former sanitation worker employed by the Dharmasthala temple administration alleged that bodies were interred in forest areas over two decades without records or official supervision.
According to his statement, he and his team buried around 100 bodies in total, 90 of them women, many reportedly showing signs of sexual assault. He alleged that orders came directly from the temple management, bypassing local authorities and gram panchayats. The burials, he claimed, took place in remote forest patches or along abandoned roads, never in formal graveyards.
The whistleblower said that at site number 13 alone, dozens of bodies were buried deep underground, while others were hidden in hilly terrain. He explained that some burial sites may no longer yield remains due to erosion, forest overgrowth, and later construction.
He also alleged that locals occasionally saw them burying bodies in daylight but chose not to intervene. Denying accusations of theft or personal vendetta, he said, “What will I gain by tarnishing the temple’s name? I am a Hindu, from a Scheduled Caste.”
The Karnataka government formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the matter following his testimony. So far, 15 sites have been excavated, with human remains found only at spot six.