Dharmasthala mass burial case: Retired Justice Gopal Gowda demands SIT under judicial supervision
Bengaluru: Retired Supreme Court Justice Gopal Gowda has demanded the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the supervision of a sitting or retired High Court/Supreme Court judge to probe the shocking allegations of mass rapes, murders, and body disposals in Dharmasthala village of Belthangady taluk, Dakshina Kannada district.
Addressing the media at the Press Club in Bengaluru on Thursday, Justice Gowda said the complainant, who has recorded his statement before a magistrate, is still facing police pressure. He alleged that investigators are coercing the whistleblower to mark burial sites on a blank sheet of paper and that crucial information is being leaked to private individuals.
He expressed concern that despite the complainant informing both police and the court about the location of the buried remains, the police have not visited the site. “This raises serious doubts about the intention behind the current investigation,” he said.
Justice Gowda urged the state to immediately remove the current team and form a new SIT headed by a police officer of ADGP rank, monitored by a sitting or retired judge of the higher judiciary. He also warned that the Home Minister and Director General of Police would be held responsible if any harm comes to the complainant or his legal counsel, who he said are receiving threats.
Senior advocate C.S. Dwarakanath, who was also present, pointed out that under Section 183 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the complainant’s statement is legally admissible evidence. He said the fact that these sensitive statements are being leaked is a grave concern. “We’ve already written to the Home Minister urging him to take immediate steps to stop these leaks,” he added.
Other lawyers present at the press conference included Balu, Dr. C.S. Dwarakanath, Umapati, and Sudha Katwa.
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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.
