Dharmasthala mass burial allegations: Karnataka government forms SIT headed by Dr. Pronab Mohanty
Who are the members of this crucial SIT? Full details below
Bengaluru: In connection with the serial murder allegations said to have occurred in Dharmasthala village of Belthangady taluk, Dakshina Kannada district, and pertaining to Criminal Case No. 39/2025 under Section 211(A) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Karnataka state government has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising four IPS officers for a comprehensive probe.
The government officially issued the order on Saturday (July 19), transferring the case to the SIT. Dr. Pronab Mohanty, Director General of Police (DGP) of the Internal Security Division of the state, has been appointed as the head of this Special Investigation Team.
Other members of the SIT:
* M.N. Anucheth, Deputy Inspector General of Police, Recruitment Division
* Soumya Latha, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Central Armed Reserve (CAR)
* Jitendra Kumar Dayama, Superintendent of Police, Internal Security Division
According to the government order, the SIT will carry out an impartial and detailed investigation into the case registered at Dharmasthala Police Station as well as any other related or future cases filed in police stations across the state concerning this issue. The SIT is also directed to submit its report to the government at the earliest.
Earlier, the Karnataka State Women’s Commission had written to the government demanding the formation of a Special Investigation Team for an impartial and thorough investigation.
The Women’s Commission had specifically requested a high-level SIT to probe cases involving missing women and girl students, unnatural deaths or murders, and sexual assault incidents that have reportedly occurred in the Dharmasthala region over the past 20 years.
The government order cites the issues raised in the Women’s Commission's letter and the case registered at Dharmasthala Police Station (Cr. No. 39/2025 under BNS Section 211(A)), and concludes that it is appropriate to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) for an in-depth and impartial inquiry.
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Bangladesh court sentences Sheikh Hasina to 10 years in jail in corruption cases
Dhaka (PTI): A Bangladesh court on Monday sentenced deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to 10 years in jail in two separate corruption cases related to alleged irregularities in allocations of land in a government housing project.
Dhaka Special Judge’s Court-4 Judge Rabiul Alam handed down the verdicts, sentencing Hasina to a total of 10 years’ imprisonment — five years in each case, state-run BSS news agency reported.
The court sentenced 78-year-old Hasina, her nephew Radwan Mujib Siddiq, and her nieces, Tulip Rizwana Siddiq and Azmina Siddiq, and others in the cases over alleged irregularities in the allocation of plots under the Rajuk New Town Project in Purbachol.
The judgment was pronounced at around 12.30 pm.
Tulip Siddiq was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment — two years in each case — while Radwan Mujib Siddiq and Azmina Siddiq were each sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment in both cases.
Rajuk member Mohammad Khurshid Alam, the only accused to surrender before the court, was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment in each case, totalling two years.
The court also fined all convicted persons Tk1 lakh each and ordered them to serve an additional six months in prison in default of payment.
Hasina has been living in India since she fled Bangladesh on August 5 last year in the face of the massive protests. She was earlier declared a fugitive by the court.
The cases were filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) over alleged abuse of power in the allocation of two 10-katha plots.
According to the prosecution, the accused manipulated the allocation process and violated existing rules and regulations of the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk).
