Mangaluru, 30 Aug

Activist Girish Mattannavar has handed over a 500-page document claiming that there was rampant forgery in Dharmasthala Panchayat to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) mass burial case.

This document sheds light on several unnatural deaths in Dharmasthala over the past 35 years, calling for a deeper investigation into these incidents.

Mattannavar alleged that there was no proper investigation into these deaths, despite several of them being suspicious. He said the Dharmasthala police had failed to conduct thorough probes and asked if there was an intentional cover-up.

SIT officers have summoned Panchayat officials, including the village officer and staff, for questioning and have started comparing the official records to the ones presented by Mattannavar to uncover potential discrepancies.

Meanwhile, the SIT took the masked complainant to undisclosed locations for a spot mahazar, police said.

The complainant is also being taken to Bengaluru, where the SIT believes he got the human skull he carried during his initial complaint.

Meanwhile, Home Minister G Parameshwara reiterated that the government cannot fix a time frame for the SIT and asserted that the team must work independently.

He said that no information can be disclosed until the SIT completes the investigation.

Parameshwara said, “We will not interfere or give them any instructions…. We don't know where this case will lead. If it is completed soon, the report will be submitted soon. They will investigate until the case reaches a logical end. This is not the kind of matter where you can say, 'finish it in a week and give the report'. We cannot fix a time frame.”