SIT must interrogate officer who threatened complainant: Sujatha Bhat's Lawyer
Mangaluru: New allegations have surfaced in the ongoing Dharmasthala case, targeting one of the investigating officers, Manjunath Gowda. Advocate Manjunath N., representing Sujatha Bhat, the mother of missing medical student Ananya Bhat, has claimed that Gowda allegedly coerced the main witness and complainant into altering his statement, even recording the manipulated testimony on his mobile phone.
The lawyer stated that this serious allegation strengthens the case for a deeper and more independent investigation. He urged that the Special Investigation Team (SIT), currently probing the case under the leadership of Pronab Mohanty, must interrogate Officer Manjunath Gowda as part of its proceedings.
According to reliable sources, the SIT had already been maintaining close surveillance on Officer Gowda as a precautionary measure. Today’s development, the lawyer said, should further empower the SIT in uncovering the truth behind the case.
No official statement has yet been released by either the SIT or the legal counsel of the complainant concerning this latest allegation. However, the complaint filed by the legal team representing the victim’s family has reportedly been submitted to the SIT leadership.
The case has drawn widespread public and media attention due to an explosive claim by a former sanitation worker, that he was forced to bury the bodies of hundreds of individuals in and around Dharmasthala.
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'Rear-guard action': BJP over Mamata accepting sports minister's resignation after Messi event
New Delhi (PTI): The BJP on Tuesday alleged that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's accepting Aroop Biswas' resignation as the state sports minister is nothing but a "rear-guard action" to douse public anger over the mismanagement of football icon Lionel Messi's event last week.
BJP co-in-charge for West Bengal Amit Malviya alleged that this is also an "open confession" that the Messi event fiasco was not accidental but a government-manufactured disaster, borne out of the poor governance of Banerjee, her ministers and the state bureaucracy.
Banerjee on Tuesday accepted Biswas' resignation as the sports minister in the wake of the controversy over the mismanagement of football icon Messi's event last week, a senior leader of the ruling TMC said.
Biswas, who had written to the chief minister seeking to be relieved of his responsibilities as sports minister, will continue as a cabinet minister, retaining charge of the power department.
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Reacting to the development, Malviya said in a post on X, "TMC Sports Minister Aroop Biswas resigns after the Messi fiasco and Mamata Banerjee accepts it in record time."
"Do not mistake this for accountability; this is nothing but a rear-guard action to douse public anger. anger! This is not 'Raj Dharma'," he added.
The BJP leader alleged that the incident was the outcome of "loot" of common people which is "so synonymous" with the TMC.
The incident was also the outcome of the "shameless VIP culture that TMC thrives on and deep-rooted cronyism promoted by Banerjee," he charged.
Malviya further alleged that Biswas' resignation exposes a "collective failure of Mamata Banerjee, her partisan bureaucracy, and her crony cabinet".
"This is a symbolic sacrifice, a political hoax, soon to be buried under layers of bureaucracy, with no justice, no accountability, and no remorse," the BJP leader said, adding, "No resignation will bring back the time lost, the money wasted, or the stolen chance for football lovers to witness Messi in Kolkata."
