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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Deir al-Balah (Gaza Strip) (AP): The Israeli military said Sunday it would pause fighting in three populated areas of Gaza for 10 hours a day and open secure routes for aid delivery to desperate Palestinians, launching a series of steps meant to address a surge in hunger in the territory as Israel faces a wave of international criticism over its conduct in the 21-month war.

The military said it would begin a “tactical pause” in Gaza City, Deir al-Balah and Muwasi, three areas of the territory with large populations, to “increase the scale of humanitarian aid” entering the territory.

The pause would begin every day at 10:00 am to 8:00 pm local time until further notice, beginning Sunday.

The military also said Sunday that it carried out aid airdrops into Gaza, which included packages of aid with flour, sugar and canned food.

Food experts have warned for months of the risk of famine in Gaza, where Israel has restricted aid because it says Hamas siphons off goods to help bolster its rule.

Images emerging from Gaza in recent days of emaciated children have fanned global criticism of Israel, including by close allies, who have called for an end to the war and the humanitarian catastrophe it has spawned.

Israel said the new measures were taking place while it continues its offensive against Hamas in other areas.

The local pause in fighting came days after ceasefire efforts between Israel and Hamas appeared to be in doubt. On Friday, Israel and the U.S. recalled their negotiating teams, blaming Hamas, and Israel said it was considering “alternative options” to ceasefire talks with the militant group.

After ending the latest ceasefire in March, Israel cut off the entry of food, medicine, fuel and other supplies completely to Gaza for 2 ½ months, saying it aimed to pressure Hamas to release hostages.

Under international pressure, Israel slightly eased the blockade in May. Since then, it has allowed in around 4,500 trucks for the UN and other aid groups to distribute. The average of 69 trucks a day, however, is far below the 500 to 600 trucks a day the UN says are needed for Gaza. The UN says it has been unable to distribute much of the aid because hungry crowds and gangs take most of it from its arriving trucks.

As a way to divert aid delivery away from the UN, Israel has backed the US-registered Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which in May opened four centers distributing boxes of food supplies. More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since May while trying to get food, mostly near those new aid sites, the UN human rights office says.

Israel has railed against the UN throughout the war, saying that its system allowed Hamas to steal aid, without providing evidence. The UN denies that claim and says its delivery mechanism was the best way to bring aid to Palestinians.

The military said the new steps were made in coordination with the U.N. and other humanitarian groups.

Much of Gaza's population, squeezed by fighting into ever tinier patches of land, now relies on aid.

The war began with Hamas' Oct 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, when militants killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostages. Hamas still holds 50 hostages, more than half of them believed to be dead.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 59,700 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Its count doesn't distinguish between militants and civilians, but the ministry says that more than half of the dead are women and children. The ministry operates under the Hamas government. The U.N. and other international organisations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.