Sujatha Bhat’s lawyer urges for immediate arrest of Dharmasthala gram panchayat VP Shrinivas Rao
Dharmasthala: Advocate Manjunath N., lawyer representing Sujatha Bhat, the mother of MBBS student Ananya Bhat has called for the immediate arrest of Shrinivas Rao, Vice President of the Dharmasthala Gram Panchayat.
This comes hours after the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the alleged mass burials in Dharmasthala discovered suspected human remains on the third consecutive day of excavation. However, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) has not officially confirmed these findings yet.
In a press note issued on Thursday, the Manjunath N. stated that the claims made by Shrinivas Rao, that all burials were official and properly documented since 1980’s, have been disproved by today's findings.
The burial sites, discovered with the help of a whistleblower, were located in remote, hazardous terrain near the riverbank. According to the release, these are not locations any panchayat would use for official burials, especially if there was a chance that remains would need to be exhumed later for grieving relatives.
Manjunath further questioned how the panchayat could claim to escort families to such treacherous sites or maintain records of such burials, as Rao had previously stated. The whistleblower reportedly led the SIT to multiple hidden spots rather than to a single, designated burial ground.
“We demand the immediate arrest of Shrinivas Rao, Vice President of Dharmasthala Gram Panchayat, the moment human remains are recovered from these sites. Rao’s statements appear to be a calculated attempt to obstruct justice and normalize irregular burials that may have covered up criminal acts,” Manjunath added.
The lawyer also raised concerns about Rao’s role in what he described as a potential cover-up operation, questioning whether Rao was acting alone or on instructions from others. The release called for his interrogation, suggesting that he may have crucial information about the people involved in the alleged crimes.
Manjunath N. has also called upon the Karnataka Government to initiate a broader inquiry into all panchayat officials who may be linked to the issue, urging the public and media to demand transparency and accountability.
Thursday’s search began at 11:30 am and focused on the sixth burial site near the Netravati riverbank. Officials present included Puttur Sub-Divisional Officer Stella Varghese, Belthangady Tahsildar Prithvi Sanikem, a medical team from KMC Mangalore, forensic science experts, and other support staff.
So far, while five sites were dug on previous days with no significant findings, Thursday marked the first instance where suspected remains have surfaced.
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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.
