Dharmasthala Mass Burial case: No doubt police are working for accused, says Sujatha Bhat
Mangaluru, July 17: In a powerful statement issued on Wednesday, Sujatha Bhat, the mother of Ananya Bhat, a girl who went missing from Dharmasthala over two decades ago, and her advocate Manjunath N have accused the Dakshina Kannada police of shielding the accused in the Dharmasthala mass burial case. The press release, strongly worded demands immediate formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to take over the probe.
The family’s outrage stems from the latest revelation made by Superintendent of Police Dr Arun K, who stated that the police had received local intelligence suggesting the key witness in the case might abscond after pointing out the locations where bodies are allegedly buried. Reacting sharply, the family questioned the logic of such a claim.
“If he intended to flee, why would he volunteer to guide the police to the burial sites?” asked Advocate Manjunath, expressing disbelief at the SP’s statement. According to the press note, the SP’s remarks indirectly confirm that the bodies are indeed buried in multiple locations around Dharmasthala and that the witness knows exactly where they are. Despite that, the police have delayed exhumation for nearly two weeks since the official complaint was filed on July 3.
The family said this inaction has allowed ample time for those involved to potentially tamper with or remove evidence. “There is no doubt that the Dakshina Kannada police are working for the accused,” the statement alleged. They went on to say that the failure to act is “nothing short of monstrous” and raised fears that the bodies might have already been removed or tampered with during this period of inaction.
Sujatha Bhat, whose daughter Ananya went missing under mysterious circumstances in Dharmasthala 22 years ago, said the ongoing developments have renewed their trauma. She expressed deep distrust in the current investigation team and pleaded with the Karnataka government to remove all existing officers from the probe.
“The Karnataka government is urgently requested to immediately form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) and completely remove the current investigative personnel from the case. I pray that, in these two weeks, we do not face a situation where we have to question how much the current investigating officers have aided the accused,” the statement read.
This latest criticism comes at a time when the Dharmasthala mass burial case is drawing widespread attention across the state. The matter came into public light earlier this month after a former sanitation worker approached the court and confessed that he had buried multiple bodies under coercion many years ago. His statement was recorded under Section 164, and he even handed over skeletal remains to the authorities, which have since been sent for forensic analysis.
Despite this, the complainant’s legal team has repeatedly accused the police of dragging their feet and not taking the next steps quickly, particularly regarding the exhumation of human remains. Meanwhile, the police have maintained that they will proceed only when legally appropriate and with due process.
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.
England sticking with Key, McCullum and Stokes despite Ashes humbling
London (AP): England is not sacking anybody following the 4-1 Ashes loss in Australia.
A review of the tour by the England and Wales Cricket Board, announced within hours of the final match in January, was concluded on Monday. Firing people would “be the easy thing to do,” ECB chief executive Richard Gould said but he insisted, "This is not the time to throw everything out."
Managing director Rob Key, coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes kept their jobs after the best England side to go to Australia in 14 years lost the Ashes in 11 days with two games to spare.
“Moving people on can sometimes be the easy thing to do. That's not the route that we're going to take,” Gould said. “I've seen the driving ambition and determination that we're lucky enough to have within our leadership group to take the lessons from the Ashes and move forward.”
Gould previously was the chief executive of Bristol City soccer club and said the ECB would not follow the same route as soccer's hire-and-fire culture.
“Cricket is a very unique sport in that it takes a team of leadership ... it's not like football where there's a single point of failure or success with a manager," he said. He added the ECB would not “select or deselect management based on a popularity campaign.”
The main criticisms of England's tour were poor preparation, player misbehavior, and selection mistakes.
At a press conference at Lord's, Gould and Key said McCullum and Stokes have not had a “bust up,” they did not want McCullum to “completely change” but “to evolve,” the behavior of some players was “unprofessional,” there will be more consequences for underperforming, and a commitment to “better long-term planning” ahead of major test series.
Some changes were already implemented for the Twenty20 World Cup, where England reached the semifinals. Gould implied that performance saved McCullum.
Key acknowledged that England supporters would be disappointed to see the management team go unpunished.
“I know people want punishment and that people then should be sacked for that,” Key said. “That doesn't mean we don't feel like we've gone through some serious pain: Brendon, myself, Ben. It's been as tough a time as I think I've had.”
