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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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.
