Mangaluru: The "Dharmasthala mass burial allegations" began almost a month ago, specifically on June 22, 2025. The issue started when a letter, circulated on social media in the names of advocates Ojaswi Gowda and Sachin Deshpande, stated that an individual claimed to have buried hundreds of bodies to cover up numerous murders, rapes, and killings of women that occurred in Dharmasthala.
The letter also mentioned that the witness had decided to exhume the buried bodies in the presence of the police.
In this context, here is a brief overview of the developments from June 22 to July 19, 2025:
Timeline of Events
June 22, 2025: A letter from an individual claiming to have buried hundreds of bodies in Dharmasthala to cover up numerous murders, rapes and killings of women goes viral in the names of advocates Ojaswi Gowda and Sachin S Deshpande.
June 23, 2025: Dakshina Kannada Superintendent of Police (SP) Dr. Arun states that appropriate legal action will be taken if the individual with information about the crimes in Dharmasthala comes forward.
June 27, 2025: A team of advocates visits the SP's office but returns as the SP is not present. Advocate Ojaswi Gowda states that the viral letter is authentic and they intend to discuss it with the SP.
July 3, 2025: The individual claiming to have information about crimes in Dharmasthala files a complaint with the Dakshina Kannada SP. The DK SP states that appropriate legal action will be taken.
July 3, 2025: The complainant files a complaint through advocates, stating that he worked as a sanitation worker in Dharmasthala. He mentions being plagued by feeling of guilt, requests protection for his family, claims to have disposed of hundreds of bodies, and states he has exhumed the bodies in Dharmasthala and has evidence for this.
July 4, 2025: DK SP Dr. Arun Kumar states that an FIR (Crime No. 39/2025, under Section 211 BNS Act) has been registered at Dharmasthala Police Station regarding the Dharmasthala complaint.
July 5, 2025: DK SP clarifies that the complainant has not handed over any bodies buried in Dharmasthala to the police, but only photographs of bodies.
July 10, 2025: Union Mter Annapurna Devi urges the Karnataka government to conduct a detailed investigation into the alleged crimes in Dharmasthala. She expresses surprise that such incidents occurred over a long period (1995 to 2014) and were not known to anyone until now, calling it a serious matter.
July 11, 2025: The complainant claiming to have buried bodies in Dharmasthala appears masked before the Principal Civil Judge of Belthangady.
July 11, 2025: The complainant's lawyers state that the court refused to record the statement in the presence of lawyers.
July 11, 2025: The complainant gives a statement for about 1 hour and 20 minutes before the Principal Civil Judge of Belthangady.
July 11, 2025: Police bring the complainant from the court to the Belthangady police station. A forensic team arrives at the station. The complainant provides evidence and gives a statement.
July 11, 2025: Advocates Ojaswi Gowda and Sachin Deshpande, representing the complainant, announce that the police have agreed to provide appropriate protection to the complainant under the Witness Protection Scheme 2018.
July 11, 2025: The complainant's lawyer states that a skeleton has been handed over to the police. They clarify that the complainant has not been given into police custody.
July 11, 2025: DK SP Dr. Arun Kumar states that legal action will be taken regarding the "Dharmasthala mass burial allegations." The SP also states that a separate investigation, led by a DySP, will be conducted against those who revealed the complainant's identity.
July 12, 2025: YouTuber Sameer MD releases an AI-generated video with graphics related to the Dharmasthala complaint.
July 12, 2025: A case is registered against YouTuber Sameer MD, alleging the video contains false information created using AI.
July 13, 2025: SP Dr. Arun Kumar states that police have started an investigation into those who revealed the identity of the witness in the Dharmasthala complaint on social media.
July 14, 2025: The State Women's Commission urges a detailed investigation into the Dharmasthala death cases. Dr. Nagalakshmi Chowdhary, Chairperson of the Karnataka State Women's Commission, writes to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah requesting the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) for the case.
July 15, 2025: The complainant's lawyers demand that an SIT led by IPS officer Pranab Mohanty be formed to investigate the alleged serial murders in Dharmasthala.
July 15, 2025: Sujatha Bhat, the mother of Ananya Bhat, a medical college student who disappeared in Dharmasthala twenty-two years ago, meets with the DK SP regarding her daughter's case.
July 15, 2025: Sujatha Bhat files a complaint at the Dharmasthala police station regarding her daughter's disappearance. She demands that her daughter's skeletal remains be found, subjected to DNA testing, returned to her, and that Hindu rituals be performed for her daughter's liberation.
July 16, 2025: A delegation of lawyers led by Balan and CS Dwarakanath meet the CM regarding the "Dharmasthala mass burial allegations," urging the formation of an SIT.
July 16, 2025: The complainant waits with his lawyers near the Netravathi Snana Ghat in Dharmasthala to provide information about the bodies he buried, but the police do not arrive at the scene.
July 16, 2025: DK SP Dr. Arun Kumar clarifies that there were no official police procedures planned for exhuming bodies on that day.
July 16, 2025: The DK SP states that there is intelligence information suggesting the “Dharmasthala complainant” might go into hiding. The investigating officers report to the court that a narco-analysis test will be conducted if the witness agrees. The SP states that appropriate legal procedures will be followed when the investigating officer determines it suitable to excavate the burial site.
July 16, 2025: The complainant's lawyers question why the mahazar (spot panchanama) of the location where the "Dharmasthala complaint" skeleton was found was not being done. They allege shocking delays by the police in the investigation and that the police were making baseless accusations.
July 16, 2025: The complainant's lawyers, Dheeraj SJ and Ananya Gowda, state that on July 14, the police recorded the complainant's statement at a specific location for over four hours. They assert that the complainant's current address was provided to the police on July 13, and therefore, it was incorrect for the police to say they didn't know the complainant's whereabouts.
July 17, 2025: Supreme Court lawyers urge the Kerala government to intervene in the Dharmasthala serial murder case. Supreme Court advocate KV Dhananjaya urges the Kerala Assembly to pass a resolution regarding the investigation of the case.
July 17, 2025: Retired Justice Gopalagowda urges the formation of an SIT under the supervision of a sitting or retired judge for the Dharmasthala serial murder allegation case. He alleges that, despite the statement being recorded in the Magistrate's court, the investigation was not proceeding properly.
July 17, 2025: Police state that witness protection was impossible when information about the Dharmasthala complaint's witness was unavailable. DK SP Dr. Arun Kumar states that a report had been submitted to the competent authority by the district police regarding this.
July 18, 2025: CM Siddaramaiah states that they must work legally regarding the Dharmasthala complaint and cannot act outside the law. He says the police are investigating, and they will see what needs to be done after the report comes. The CM adds that he is ready to form an SIT if necessary.
July 18, 2025: Ananya Bhat's mother, Sujatha Bhat, alleges misbehavior and breach of confidentiality by the PSI regarding the complaint. She files complaints with the Chief Justice of India, the Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court, the CM, the Home Minister, and others.
July 18, 2025: Supreme Court advocate KV Dhananjaya questions how many such cases the investigating officer appointed for the "Dharmasthala complaint" had solved. He demands that the government publicly clarify information about the appointed investigating officer for the Dharmasthala mass burial allegations case.
July 18, 2025: Social activist M Nagamani writes to Rahul Gandhi, urging him to direct the state government to form an SIT regarding the Dharmasthala mass grave allegation case.
July 19, 2025: Actor Prakash Raj urges CM Siddaramaiah to take urgent action to ensure evidence in the "Dharmasthala mass burial allegations" was not destroyed. He also requests the CM to take severe action against officials who had misled the investigation so far.
July 19, 2025: Home Minister Dr. G Parameshwara states that a higher investigation will be conducted if necessary. He says he had discussed it with the CM and a decision will be made if needed. The Home Minister questions the need for an SIT investigation, while the preliminary investigation was ongoing, asking what the purpose of the police department would be then.
July 19, 2025: Rajya Sabha MP from CPI P Sandosh Kumar writes to Home Minister Amit Shah regarding the "Dharmasthala mass burial allegations," demanding an NIA investigation.
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Mumbai, Jul 26 (PTI): Enforcement Directorate searches against the companies of Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani in Mumbai continued for the third day on Saturday with the agency recovering a number of documents and computer peripherals from multiple locations, official sources said.
The raids were launched on July 24 by the federal probe agency as part of an alleged Rs 3,000 crore worth bank loan fraud-linked money laundering case apart from multiple other allegations of financial irregularities with crores of rupees by certain companies.
The searches, being conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), are continuing at some locations out of the more than 35 premises that were covered in Mumbai since Thursday, the sources said.
These premises belong to 50 companies and 25 people including a number of executives of the Anil Ambani Group companies.
ED sources had said the investigation primarily pertains to allegations of illegal loan diversion of around Rs 3,000 crore, given by the Yes Bank to the group companies of Ambani between 2017-2019.
Reliance Power and Reliance Infrastructure, two companies of the group, had on Thursday informed the stock exchanges saying while they acknowledge the action, the raids had "absolutely no impact" on their business operations, financial performance, shareholders, employees, or any other stakeholders.
"The media reports appear to pertain to allegations concerning transactions of Reliance Communications Limited (RCOM) or Reliance Home Finance Limited (RHFL) which are over 10 years old," the companies had said.
The ED, the sources had said, has found that just before the loan was granted, Yes Bank promoters "received" money in their concerns.
The agency is investigating this nexus of "bribe" and the loan.
The sources said the ED is also probing allegations of "gross violations" in Yes Bank loan approvals to these companies including charges like back-dated credit approval memorandums, investments proposed without any due diligence/credit analysis in violation of banks credit policy.
The loans are alleged to have been "diverted" to many group companies and "shell" (bogus) companies by the entities involved.
The agency is also looking at some instances of loans given to entities with weak financials, lack of proper documentation of loans and due diligence, borrowers having common addresses and common directors in their companies etc., the sources said.
The money laundering case stems from at least two CBI FIRs and reports shared by the National Housing Bank, SEBI, National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) and Bank of Baroda with the ED, they said.
These reports indicate, the sources said, that there was a "well-planned and thought after scheme" to divert or siphon off public money by cheating banks, shareholders, investors and other public institutions.
The Union government had informed the Parliament recently that the State Bank of India has classified RCOM along with Ambani as 'fraud' and was also in the process of lodging a complaint with the CBI.
A bank loan "fraud" of more than Rs 1,050 crore between RCOM and Canara Bank is also under the scanner of the ED apart from some "undisclosed" foreign bank accounts and assets, the sources said.
Reliance Mutual fund is also stated to have invested Rs 2,850 crore in AT-1 bonds and a "quid pro quo" is suspected here by the agency.
Additional Tier 1 (AT-1) are perpetual bonds issued by banks to increase their capital base and they are riskier than traditional bonds having higher interest rates. An alleged loan fund diversion of about Rs 10,000 crore involving Reliance Infrastructure too is under the scanner of the agency.
A Sebi report on RHFL is also part of the ED probe.
The companies also said in their filings before the stock exchanges that Anil Ambani was not on the Board of either Reliance Power or Reliance Infrastructure and that they had no "business or financial linkage" to RCOM or RHFL.
Any action taken against RCOM or RHFL, the companies said, has no bearing or impact on the governance, management, or operations of either Reliance Power or Reliance Infrastructure.