A 48-year-old Dalit man, a former sanitation worker at the revered Dharmasthala temple in Karnataka, India, has come forward with a horrific account of being forced to bury hundreds of bodies, including women and minors, who were allegedly raped and murdered. The whistleblower, who has been living in hiding for 12 years, filed a complaint with the police on July 3, stating that he was compelled to disclose the information to recover from the insurmountable sense of guilt he has been carrying.
The complainant alleges that during his 20-year tenure at the temple, from 1995 to 2014, he was regularly directed to bury bodies, many of which showed signs of sexual assault and violence. He claims that his supervisors would call him to specific locations where dead bodies were found, and he would be forced to dispose of them without reporting to the authorities. The whistleblower’s statement reads, “I can no longer bear the burden of memories of the murders I witnessed, the continuous death threats to bury the corpses I received, and the pain of beatings – that if I did not bury those corpses, I would be buried alongside them.”
The whistleblower has provided details of several specific cases, including the burial of a teenage girl in 2010, who was wearing a school uniform shirt and had clear signs of sexual assault. He also described another incident where he was asked to dispose of a woman’s body, whose face had been burned with acid, and her belongings were to be burned with her.
The Karnataka government has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the allegations of assault and murder. The SIT, headed by Director General of Police Pronab Mohanty, will examine every missing person’s case from the region to determine if it is connected to the string of crimes alleged by the whistleblower. The team will also conduct forensic analysis and initiate legal procedures for exhuming bodies from locations identified by the whistleblower.
The Dharmasthala temple administration, controlled by the powerful Heggade family, has expressed support for a fair and transparent investigation. Veerendra Heggade, the hereditary head of the temple, has been a member of the parliament’s upper house and has significant influence in the region. The temple authorities have stated that they hope the SIT will conduct a thorough and impartial investigation and bring the true facts to light.
The case has sparked widespread public debate and outrage, with many demanding justice for the victims and their families. Sujatha Bhat, the mother of Ananya Bhat, who disappeared in 2003, has filed a new complaint with the police, seeking to find her daughter’s skeletal remains and perform the funeral rites with honor. She said, “Please find my daughter’s skeletal remains and allow me to perform the funeral rites with honour. I want to give peace to Ananya’s soul, and let me spend my final days in peace”.
The investigation is ongoing, with the SIT expected to submit a final report to the state government at the earliest. The case has raised serious concerns about the alleged cover-up and the involvement of influential figures in the temple administration.