Dharmasthala case: Govt has given clearance, it is for SIT to submit charge sheet, says minister
Bengaluru (PTI): Amid reports that the SIT probing the allegations of "multiple murders, rapes and burials" in Dharmasthala is likely to file a charge sheet, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Thursday said, the government has given its clearance, and it is left for the investigating team on when to submit.
The SIT is likely to file the charge sheet before the Belthangady court very soon, sources said.
"We have given clearance to them (SIT) from the government. Submitting the charge sheet is left to the SIT. They will have to do it within 90 days," Parameshwara told reporters in response to a question about SIT filing charge sheet in Dharmasthala case.
Asked, has any information been shared with the government, he said, after submitting the chargesheet to the court, the SIT will share information with the government.
"Let the things in the chargesheet come out, what is there in it will be known. As SIT has been formed by the government, information will be shared with us," he said.
To a question, will the information in the chargesheet be shared and discussed during the upcoming legislature session starting from December 8, the Home Minister said, facts have to be updated to the House (legislature), where discussions have taken place regarding the case, in the past.
A controversy erupted after a complainant, later identified as C N Chinnaiah and arrested on charges of perjury, claimed burying a number of bodies, including those of women with signs of sexual assault, in Dharmasthala over a period of past two decades, with the implications pointing towards the administrators of the local temple.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT), formed by the state government, which is probing charges, has conducted excavations at multiple locations identified by the complainant in the forested areas along the banks of the Netravathi River in Dharmasthala, where some skeletal remains were found at two sites.
Later, the SIT, recently had again recovered some skeletal remains during a search operation in the Banglegudde forest area near the Nethravathi bathing ghat.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Guv Gehlot clears bill paving way for Panchayat elections through ballots
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot has given his assent to the Karnataka Gram Swaraj and Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Act that will pave the way for holding the Panchayat elections through ballots instead of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
Following the assent, the Act was notified in the state gazette on Wednesday.
The bill was passed by both houses of the Karnataka legislature in March during the budget session, amid protests by the opposition BJP.
As per the law, the principle of secrecy of the ballot is a cornerstone of free and fair elections, as recognised by the judiciary, which emphasised that the secrecy of the ballot protects voters from coercion, intimidation, and undue influence, thereby safeguarding the sanctity of the democratic process in several judgments of the Supreme Court.
Some concerns have been raised regarding the functioning of EVMs, necessitating a return to the robust secret ballot paper system to restore public trust, according to the Act.
Justifying its decision, the Karnataka government said there is “a growing consensus on the need to strengthen electoral mechanisms that prioritise anonymity and transparency”.
