Dharmasthala case: SIT files charge sheet, six accused named
Mangaluru (Karnataka) (PTI): The SIT investigating the allegations of multiple murders, rapes and burials in the temple town of Dharmasthala, has submitted the charge sheet before a court in Dakshina Kannada district, police sources said.
The Special Investigation Team submitted the 3,900-page report to the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court at Beltangady on Thursday, under Section 215 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), naming six persons as accused, they said.
Mahesh Shetty Timarodi, Girish Mattannavar, T Jayanth, Vittal Gowda -- activists who had earlier backed the registration of the FIR in the case -- also Sujatha Bhat and one more person (reportedly complainant Chinnaiah), have been named as the accused.
A controversy erupted after a man, identified as C N Chinnaiah and arrested on charges of perjury, claimed burying many bodies, including those of women with signs of sexual assault, in Dharmasthala over a period of two decades, with the implications pointing towards the administrators of the local temple.
The SIT, formed by the state government, 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 again recovered some skeletal remains during a search operation in the Banglegudde forest area near the Nethravathi bathing ghat.
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Rain washes out Super Eights match between New Zealand and Pakistan
Pallekele (Sri Lanka) (PTI): New Zealand and Pakistan shared a point after incessant rain forced the abandonment of the opening T20 World Cup Group 2 Super Eights match here on Saturday.
Amid a slight drizzle, Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first.
But the steady droplets soon transformed into relentless pouring, forcing the officials to call off the match without a ball being bowled.
Before the skies opened up, Pakistan made one change to their eleven, bringing in Fakhar Zaman in place of Khawaja Nafay.
New Zealand made three changes with skipper Mitchell Santner back after missing the last match against Canada due to a stomach issue and Lockie Ferguson and Ish Sodhi also found a place in the XI.
But all those calculations and combinations will have to wait for another day, as Pakistan will now face England here on February 24.
New Zealand will make a light travel to Colombo to face home side Sri Lanka on February 25.
The washout has also placed both the Kiwis and Pakistan in a relatively tighter place ahead of their remaining two Super Eights matches.
A similar result in any of the following matches, a possibility considering Sri Lanka’s weather pattern, or a defeat can put their semifinal ambitions in serious jeopardy.
