Mother of Ananya Bhat who went missing 22 years ago in Dharmasthala seeks fresh probe
Meets Dakshina Kannada SP as Dharmasthala Mass Burial Case unfolds
Mangaluru: In a significant development that ties into the ongoing Dharmasthala mass burial case, Sujatha Bhat — the mother of missing MBBS student Ananya Bhat, has approached the Dakshina Kannada Superintendent of Police, seeking a fresh investigation into her daughter’s mysterious disappearance in 2003.
Ananya Bhat, then a young medical student, had gone missing during a visit to the Dharmasthala temple. Despite repeated efforts and inquiries over the past 22 years, her family has received no clarity or closure on her whereabouts.
Now, amid explosive revelations surrounding the alleged mass burials in Dharmasthala, Sujaata Bhat has formally submitted a complaint to the SP, urging authorities to reinvestigate her daughter’s disappearance amidst the newly surfaced claims of unreported burials. She was accompanied by her advocate during the meeting.
Police officials have confirmed receipt of the complaint and stated that further action is likely as part of a renewed investigation.
The case took a sensational turn earlier this month when a man who had worked as a sanitation worker in Dharmasthala claimed to have buried hundreds of dead bodies under pressure. He initially submitted a written statement to the Dakshina Kannada SP and, a few days later, appeared before a Belthangady court, where he gave a formal testimony before the magistrate. During his court appearance, he also brought with him a human skeleton which he claimed he exhumed from the site of burial he used before moving into hiding. The skeleton has now been sent for forensic analysis.
The man reportedly told the court that he had buried bodies in several undisclosed locations around Dharmasthala and expressed willingness to identify those sites if the police conduct an investigation. Following this, two lawyers representing him have formally demanded the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the alleged murders and illegal burials.
His confession and the shocking nature of the allegations have triggered a state-wide and national-level debate, raising serious questions about how unidentified deaths and disappearances in Dharmasthala have been handled over the years.
Sujatha Bhat’s renewed plea has now brought Ananya’s two-decade-old missing case back into the spotlight, with concerns growing over whether her disappearance was one of many such neglected or possibly connected incidents.
This is the first time in years that Ananya’s family has formally approached the police again, hopeful that the current momentum might finally lead them to the truth.
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Three terrorists involved in Pahalgam attack eliminated, Amit Shah announces in Lok Sabha
New Delhi (PTI): Three terrorists involved in the Pahalgam attack have been eliminated by security forces in a joint operation by the Army, CRPF and Jammu and Kashmir Police near Srinagar, Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
Participating in the special discussion on Operation Sindoor, Shah said the terrorists were killed under Operation Mahadev on Monday. They have been identified as Suleman alias Faizal, Afghani and Jibran.
"While Suleman was an A-category commander of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, Afghani was also an A-category Lashkar-e-Taiba terroris, Jibran too was a notorious and wanted terrorist. All these three terrorists involved in the killing of our citizens at Baisaran valley in Pahalgam have now been eliminated," he said.
To be sure about the identity of the terrorists, those detained by security forces for helping the terrorists were brought in and confirmed that the three were involved in the April 22 attack in Pahalgam, Shah told the House.
"People who used to supply food, provide shelter to the terrorists were detained earlier. Once the bodies of these terrorists were brought to Srinagar, they were identified by those who were detained by our agencies," he said.
The arms -- M-9 and AK-47 rifles -- recovered from the terrorists were flown to Chandigarh on Monday night in a special flight for examination at the Central Forensic Science Laboratory.
The empty cartridges found at Pahalgam and those after test firing by the recovered guns were matched by the forensic lab, Shah said. The ballistic report is with him, he added.
"Six forensic experts have confirmed to me on a video call this morning that these are the same bullets used in the Pahalgam attack," he said.
The home minister said security forces had recovered Pakistani voter IDs of two of the killed terrorists as well as chocolates made in Pakistan and the weapons.
After the Pahalgam attack, security forces were instructed not to allow terrorists responsible for the dastardly act to leave the country
Describing the Pahalgam attack as barbaric, Shah said innocent civilians were brutally killed in front of their families after being asked about their religion and were murdered with extreme cruelty.
Expressing heartfelt condolences for those who had lost their lives in Pahalgam and during Pakistani shelling on civilians, the home minister said due to Pakistani firing civilians were martyred and some gurdwaras and temples damaged.
