Dharmasthala case: SIT launches search at new location
Belthangady: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing allegations of bodies being buried in connection with past criminal activities in the Dharmasthala Police Station limits has initiated a fresh search operation at a new site on Saturday.
The search is underway in the forested area at the foothills of Bahubali Hill, near the main entrance of Dharmasthala. SIT officers arrived with full preparations, accompanied by Puttur AC Stella Varghese, Beltangady Tahsildar Prithvi Sanikham, a team of doctors, forest officials, FSL experts, ISD personnel, and other authorities.
On August 8, SIT officers, along with the anonymous complainant, had carried out searches at two sites, locations 16 and 16A, in the Boliyar Gomkratar area of Dharmasthala village. Reports indicate that excavations were also conducted at two additional spots, though the SIT has not issued any official statement on this.
On Saturday, the complainant witness was brought to the new location by SIT officers to identify further possible sites. It remains to be seen how many locations will be marked during this round of investigation. Although the mahazar process had earlier been completed at the 13th location, no further work has been carried out there since.
According to officials, the anonymous complainant arrived at the Belthangady SIT office under police escort at around 10:15 am, departed at 12:05 pm, and reached Dharmasthala village by approximately 12:45 pm.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
