A man from Karnataka’s Dakshina Kannada district has now stepped forward with horrific charges, alleging he was coerced into cremating and burying the corpses of numerous girls and women he said were raped and killed in and around Dharmasthala between 1998 and 2014.
The victim, a one-time sanitation worker who used to work for the Dharmasthala temple administration, went to local police earlier this week and sought protection for himself and his family. The New Indian Express reports that the victim said he had been motivated by guilt and a need to get justice for the victims to open his mouth almost a decade after the incident.
Dakshina Kannada Superintendent of Police Arun K told TNIE, “The individual has asked not to disclose his identity and after receiving due permission from the court, we filed a case.”
Graphic Allegations and a Call for Justice
In his own statement, the man described his discovery of what he had thought were victims of rape and murder, including schoolgirls. He was said to have provided photographs of human remains he claimed to have uncovered recently remains that he said he had buried years ago.
“I ask the police to dig up the bodies of those buried by me. Approximately 11 years ago, I took my family and escaped from Dharmasthala and hid ourselves and stayed in the neighboring state. We are terrorized every day that we too will be murdered,” the man replied, quoted in TNIE.
Case That Haunts Him: A Schoolgirl in Uniform
Among the cases he talked about, one case has lingered with him. He explained how he found the corpse of a girl aged between 12 and 15 in 2010, approximately 500 metres from a petrol station in Kalleri.
“A single incident has pursued me till eternity. A 12- to 15-year-old girl was discovered lying dead at a distance of approximately 500 metres from a petrol bunk at Kalleri in 2010. She was a schoolgirl and there was no skirt or innerwear on her and she had signs of sexual assault and strangulation,” he maintained in his statement.
He also complained that he was instructed to dig a hole and place the body of the girl in it with her schoolbag.
Allegations of Cover-Up and Threats
As per his supporters, Ojaswi Gowda and Sachin Deshpande, the man asserted that he witnessed several murders throughout the years, which include the killings of homeless persons and beggars in Dharmasthala. He claimed that his boss instructed him to dispose of the bodies discreetly and attacked him when he disobeyed and refused to report to authorities.
A case was lodged on July 3 at Dharmasthala police station under Section 211(a) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which refers to the omission to give information required by law. Investigation into the allegations is in progress, and a government response is awaited.