Dharmasthala: On Tuesday evening, Special Investigation Team (SIT) officials, along with the key complainant witness, inspected two more locations in a forested area near the Nethravathi bathing ghat, under the Dharmasthala police station jurisdiction. These sites were the 11th and 12th out of 13 marked by the witness in the suspected mass burial case. However, no human remains were unearthed at either spot.
The excavation zones, situated roughly 20 meters off the highway, were screened from public view using green nets. According to SIT sources, “No signs of buried remains were discovered at these two sites.”
In a parallel development, Karnataka DGP & IGP M.A. Saleem has directed that an unnatural death case — initially registered at Dharmasthala police station after skeletal remains were found on July 31 — be transferred to the SIT for further inquiry. The case is linked to a complaint by Jayant T of Ichlampady, alleging the secret burial of a young girl, aged between 13 and 15, without a postmortem.
SP Dr. Arun K confirmed that Jayant’s complaint, filed on August 4, has also been handed over to the SIT. So far, excavations have been completed at 12 of the 13 locations identified by the witness. The remains found on July 31, believed to belong to one individual, are undergoing forensic testing to determine identity and gender.
Advocate Manjunath N claimed that three sets of remains — including that of a woman — were discovered near site 11 on Monday.