Excavator bills, labour wages pending in Dharmasthala burial case probe
Mangaluru: Bills for the excavator used during excavation work and wages of labourers involved in digging during the investigation into the alleged mass burial case in Dharmasthala remain unpaid, Deccan Herald reported.
The State government had constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the case. During July and August 2025, excavation and searches for human remains were carried out in several areas, including forest regions of Dharmasthala village. At the request of the SIT, the Dharmasthala Gram Panchayat arranged labourers, earthmover machines, and other materials for clearing vegetation and digging operations.
Sources said, “A total of Rs 1.06 lakh is pending as wages for workers who dug the pits, Rs 71,500 is pending for earthmover excavation work, and Rs 24,000 remains unpaid for materials supplied. The Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat has instructed the Dharmasthala Gram Panchayat that these payments cannot be made from the panchayat’s funds. The panchayat has forwarded the bills to the SIT.”
“We were not aware that payments for the excavation work carried out using machines and for labourers engaged in the SIT investigation are pending. This amount certainly has to be paid. We will discuss the matter with the government and take steps to ensure payment,” DH quoted SIT chief Pronab Mohanty as saying.
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Karnataka Muslim Convention to be held in Bengaluru on May 16
“What did the Congress government promise? What has it done? What next?” report to be released
Bengaluru: The Karnataka Rajya Muslim Sanghatanegala Okkoota has announced that a state-level ‘Karnataka Muslim Convention’ will be held on May 16 at Town Hall in Bengaluru to draw the Karnataka government’s attention to issues concerning the welfare of the Muslim community.
The organisers said a detailed report titled “What did the Congress government promise? What has it done? What next?” will be released during the convention.
Addressing a press conference at the Press Club in Bengaluru on Wednesday, one of the convention coordinators, Suhail Ahmed Maroor, said the report would review not only the Congress government’s three-year performance but also examine ten major issues on which promises were made to the Muslim community.
He said the report would assess how many of those promises were fulfilled, which commitments remain pending, concerns over political representation, and the demands that the community intends to place before the government.
Maroor said the convention would bring together leaders of community organisations from different parts of the state, senior ulemas, jamaat leaders, lawyers, retired officials, journalists and activists.
The report is expected to cover issues such as the hijab ban, reservation rollback, hate speech and hate crimes, budget allocations, political representation, waqf matters, the anti-cow slaughter law, anti-conversion law, scholarships and educational grants.
Speaking at the press conference, Welfare of Humanity Foundation president Maulana Shabbir Ahmed Husain Nadwi said no politicians would be invited to the convention.
He said the objective of the event was not to create confrontation with any political party, but to seek answers on what the Congress government has done for the development of the Muslim community.
Maulana Khari Zulfiqar Raza Noori of Bilal Masjid said the convention was not intended to target or criticise any individual. However, he said that despite the Muslim community, numbering over one crore in Karnataka, extending strong support to the Congress, the government had failed to provide adequate justice to the community.
Other coordinators, including Tanveer Ahmed and Yahya Damudi, along with ulemas and social activists, were also present at the press conference.
