Chief Minister Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in Karnataka on Sunday constituted a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the alleged murders, sexual assaults and cases of missing women in the Dharmasthala region of Dakshina Kannada district.
"The government has constituted an SIT to look into the Dharmasthala issues. There has been a complaint. There has been a public hue and cry. The government has taken note of all this and then constituted an SIT to look into this entire thing... If somebody is thinking of creating some political issue out of this at this point of time, I don't want to react to all that," news agency ANI quoted Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara as saying.
What will be the role of SIT?
According to news agency PTI, the SIT will be headed by Pranav Mohanty, Director General of Police, Internal Security Division. It will also include Additional Commissioner of Police (Recruitment) M N Anucheth, Deputy Commissioner of Police (CAR Headquarters) Soumya Latha, and Superintendent of Police (Internal Security Division) Jitendra Kumar Dayama.
The state government has empowered the SIT to probe all cases registered or to be registered in other police stations across the state. The DGP will assign such cases to the SIT and provide necessary personnel.
The SIT will function using resources from the Dakshina Kannada District Police Office and is expected to submit regular updates to the DGP. A comprehensive investigation report will be submitted to the government through the DGP at the earliest, reported PTI.
What is this case all about?
The matter came to light after a human skull was discovered in the Dharmasthala region, which is considered a popular pilgrimage site. Later, a man alleged that several bodies are secretly buried "under pressure" in Dharmasthala. Following this, the Karnataka Police had registered a case in this regard under Section 211(a) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at the Dharmasthala Police Station.
Dharmasthala Temple welcomes K'taka govt's move to constitute SIT
The Dharmasthala Temple has welcomed the state government's decision to constitute an SIT to probe this matter. In a statement, temple spokesperson K Parshwanath Jain said the administration hopes that the SIT will thoroughly conduct its probe and the truth will be revealed.
"Truth and belief are the strongest foundation for a society’s ethics and faith. Therefore, it is our sincere hope and earnest demand that the SIT conducts the highest level of investigation in this case and brings out true facts to light," he said.
