Bengaluru : The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the alleged unnatural deaths and mass burial cases in Dharmasthala is likely to submit its comprehensive final report by the end of this week, Home Minister Dr. G. Parameshwara said on Monday.
Speaking to reporters, Parameshwara stated, “The SIT has been instructed to submit the final report on the Dharmasthala case within this month. Officials have assured that the report will be ready by October 31, or there may be a delay of a day or two.”
He said the SIT has been directed to include the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) and chemical analysis reports in its final submission. “They have been asked to analyse all findings, including skeletal remains recovered during the investigation, before submitting the consolidated report,” he added.
Meanwhile, activists Mahesh Shetty Timarodi, Girish Mattannavar, T. Jayanth, and Vithal Gowda—who were issued Section 41A notices to appear before the SIT on Monday—failed to turn up for questioning. According to sources, the SIT had planned to detain them if they appeared for inquiry.
Timarodi’s legal team, however, visited the SIT office and sought a seven-day extension for their client to appear for questioning.
In a dramatic twist, Sujatha Bhatt, the woman who initially filed a complaint claiming her daughter had gone missing in Dharmasthala in 2003, retracted her statement during Monday’s questioning. She reportedly told investigators that she had no daughter and had given a false statement under pressure from activists Mattannavar and Jayanth.
The retraction has raised new questions about the authenticity of several claims surrounding the so-called “mass burial” case, even as the SIT prepares to close the high-profile investigation.
