Dharmasthala Whistle-Blower Chinnaiah in Prison Even After Bail Order

Mangaluru: Although the court granted him bail on November 24, Chinnaiah  the man whose sensational allegations of secret burials in Dharmasthala sparked a statewide furore  continues to remain in the Shivamogga prison.

Arrested on August 23 on charges of perjury, Chinnaiah was in judicial custody for over three months. Principal District and Sessions Court granted him bail directing him to furnish a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh and two sureties for the same amount. The order also included several additional conditions he must comply with.

However, sources say even after 10 days of the order he has been unable to mobilise surety required for the bail, leaving him still behind bars.

“Chinnaiah was initially projected as ‘Bhima.’ He was portrayed as a representative of a marginalised community to rally sentiment behind him. The issue itself was used as a tool to target someone else. His entry was like that of a film hero, surrounded by people. But today, there is no one for him,” social activist Vasanth Giliyar told Deccan Chronicle.

“Now, nobody speaks for him. Even the machinery that backed him then has fallen silent. There isn’t anybody willing to stand surety for his bail. He was used  and today, abandoned,” he added.

Chinnaiah shot to prominence after filing a complaint on July 3 claiming that, during his years as a sanitation worker in Dharmasthala between 1995 and 2014, he was compelled to dispose of bodies of murder and sexual-assault victims.

On July 11, he produced skeletal remains before a magistrate, asserting they belonged to a woman. Forensic tests later revealed the remains were male, following which he was arrested for perjury. More sections under the BNS were subsequently added to the case.

Meanwhile after his allegations and complaint, the state government set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by Internal Security Division DGP Pronab Mohanty. The SIT conducted excavations at 17 locations in and around Dharmasthala, recovering human remains at only two sites  Spot No 6 and beneath a tree near Spot No 11.

Investigators also looked into allegations that a relative of a 2012 rape victim had supplied the skull to Chinnaiah, which he falsely presented as having unearthed himself.

While he had initially levelled grave charges of secret burials, Chinnaiah later told investigators he made the claims under pressure. He even recorded a revised voluntary statement before the Belthangady court.

Last month, the SIT submitted a 3,900-page report before the Additional Civil Judge, naming Chinnaiah along with activists Mahesh Shetty Thimarody, Girish Mattennavar, Sujatha Bhat, Vittala Gowda and T Jayanth.