Karnataka Women's Commission seeks SIT probe into unnatural deaths, disappearances in Dharmasthala
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka State Women's Commission Chairperson Nagalakshmi Choudhary has urged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe cases of disappearances, unnatural deaths, and sexual assaults in Dharmasthala over the past two decades.
Dharmasthala in Dakshina Kannada district is a major pilgrimage centre, and Lord Manjunatha is the prime deity there.
Citing recent media reports and a statement made in court by an individual who claimed that "hundreds of bodies" had been buried in the area, Choudhary described the situation as "deeply alarming, which requires immediate and impartial investigation."
In a letter to the Chief Minister on Monday, Choudhary said, "The Commission has taken serious note of the reports aired by some media outlets on July 12, 2025, which included claims about the recovery of a human skull. Concerns were raised by the family of a missing medical student. These revelations point towards possible systematic abuse, murder, rape, and unexplained deaths involving women and students."
The chairperson further alleged that numerous families had approached the police in the past regarding missing persons, but many were met with indifference or inadequate response from the authorities.
"There are allegations that police personnel failed to act appropriately when families attempted to register complaints about missing women or unnatural deaths," she stated.
Given the grave nature of the allegations and the possibility of crimes left unaddressed, unresolved for a long time, the Women's Commission has urged the state government to establish an SIT led by senior police officers.
"We request the formation of a high-level SIT to conduct a thorough and unbiased investigation into all cases of missing women and students, unnatural deaths or murders, and sexual assault incidents reported in the Dharmasthala region over the past 20 years," Choudhary said.
The State Government is yet to respond to the Commission's appeal.
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Two arrested in K'taka for assaulting minors, uploading CSAM content
Bengaluru (PTI): Two men were arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls, recording the acts on mobile phones and uploading the videos online as child sexual abuse material, police said on Thursday.
The accused have been identified as Kiran Kumar (29), hailing from Chitradurga district, and Aditya M K (20), hailing from Shivamogga district, they said.
A probe was initiated after information was received from the NCRP portal regarding a suspected instance of creation of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) for online dissemination, police said.
Accordingly, a case was registered at Kaggalipura Police Station under relevant sections of the IT Act on May 10, they added.
Investigation revealed that two minor girl victims were exploited and videos were created and uploaded to the internet. The child victims have subsequently recorded their statements as per procedure and further necessary legal steps have been taken, Pronab Mohanty Director General of Police, Cyber Command, said in a statement.
Based on the statements of the victims, the accused persons, who allegedly assaulted the minors, recorded the acts on mobile phones and uploaded the videos online, were arrested, he said.
Following the probe, sections 65(2) (rape) and 70 (gangrape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant sections of the POCSO Act, have been added to the FIR, police said.
Officials collected relevant information and on May 12, arrested the accused persons and seized three mobile phones belonging to them, in which the videos had allegedly been recorded, he said.
The accused were later produced before the court and taken into police custody for further investigation, he added.
According to him, in CSAM cases, police usually apprehend offenders who have downloaded such content or have kept them in their possession after obtaining them from elsewhere, usually the internet.
"The present case is one of the very few instances where content creators and uploaders have been apprehended," Mohanty added.
