Dharmasthala mass burial: Another shocking claim surfaces - 'I saw teenage girl buried 15 years ago'

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A second witness has emerged in the mass burials case in Karnataka's Dharmasthala. According to The News Minute, a man claimed to have witnessed the body of a girl being buried in violation of procedure 15 years ago.

A social activist named Jayanth, from Ichlampady village in Puttur taluk, has claimed that he witnessed the burial of the decomposed body of a teenage girl in Dharmasthala-Ujire 15 years ago.

The 48-year-old met the Special Investigation Team (SIT) at its office in Belthangady taluk on Saturday, August 2, the report added. Speaking to the media outside the SIT office, Jayanth said he has been asked to file a formal complaint on Monday.

“I have seen that girl’s body, and it was buried without following any legal procedures. I know the spot where her body was buried. I do not know whether the girl was murdered, but her body was in a slightly decomposed state,” Jayanth was quoted by The News Minute as saying.

Asked why he was coming forward only now, he said there was a long-standing atmosphere of fear in Dharmasthala, the report added. “A few more people will come forward to share similar disturbing experiences in the coming days before the SIT,” Jayanth claimed.

According to the report, Jayanth later told a news channel that he is a relative of Padmalatha, a young woman who went missing in Dharmasthala in December 1986 and whose body was found after 56 days.

“We have not got justice for the murder of Padmalatha in the past. So we had lost faith in this system. Now, as an SIT has been formed to investigate the old case, we have gained faith. So I am filing a complaint. I am a witness to the girl being buried,” he was quoted as saying.

The SIT is probing claims by a former sanitation worker who has alleged that he was forced to bury several bodies in Dharmasthala, including those of women and girls who appeared to be sexually assaulted. As per the report, so far, human skeletal remains have been recovered at only one of the eight locations. Excavation at the remaining five sites is still pending.