There is no question of protecting anybody, want truth to come out: Minister on Dharmasthala case
Bengaluru, Jul 17 (PTI): Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao on Thursday said the state government is not protecting anybody in the Dharmasthala burial case, in which a witness is complaining of disappearances, unnatural deaths, and sexual assaults.
“There is no question of supporting or protecting anybody. We do not want to sensationalise the case, but we certainly want to pursue the truth. We want the truth to come out,” said the minister to reporters on Thursday.
On allegations that the accused are being “protected”, the District In charge Minister of Dakshina Kannada said if there is evidence on the ground, and if the proof emerges, then strict action will be taken as per law.
“As far as the police of Dakshina Kannada district, they have been told to get to the truth, no matter what.”
He said the information that has been provided by the witness is "shocking".
“It shook all of us up. Proper investigation is definitely required. If whatever the witness is saying holds true, then definitely it has serious implications,” Rao said.
Meanwhile, a group of lawyers, led by retired Supreme Court judge V Gopala Gowda, who had handed over a memorandum to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, urging him to form a Special Investigation Team for an impartial probe into the case, reiterated on Thursday their concern that the investigation in the case is not on the proper lines.
“There are lapses on the part of the police investigation agency in this matter. It is the cardinal duty of the police investigation agency to unearth the truth by exhuming the bodies, but that is not happening,” said Gowda in a press conference organised by legal professionals in this regard.
Gowda said the witness' statement has got evidentiary value at the time of conducting the trial before the jurisdiction trial court.
On July 11, the witness produced some of the skeletal remains of a body that he claimed to have exhumed on his own, before the Principal Civil Judge and Judicial Magistrate First Class, Belthangady court, and gave a statement regarding the same.
“It has disclosed who are responsible in committing murders and mass rapes. Names of certain persons are also disclosed. The information is in the public domain,” said Gowda.
According to him, due to the delay that is being caused for the last three weeks, the public could only infer that there must be strong vested interest behind it.
Besides an SIT team, the lawyers also demand comprehensive forensic support for collecting irrefutable scientific evidence, video recording of investigation as well as immediate arrest and custodial interrogation.
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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.
