Court Grants Bail to Chinnaiah in Dharmasthala Secret Burials Case

Mangaluru: The Dakshina Kannada Principal District and Sessions Court has granted bail to Chinnaiah — whose explosive allegations of secret burials in Dharmasthala had created a major stir across Karnataka.

Chinniah was arrested on August 23 on charges of perjury and is presently at Shivamogga prison.

In an order issued by Principal District and Sessions Judge Basavaraj, the court allowed his bail plea under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). As part of the conditions, Chinnaiah must furnish personal bond for Rs 1 lakh with two sureties for like-sum to the satisfaction of concerned jurisdictional Magistrate.

The court has prohibited him from committing similar offences, absconding, or tampering the prosecution witness. He has been directed to cooperate fully with the investigation and appear before the Investigating Officer whenever required.

The order further requires him to attend court hearings regularly, submit valid address proof documents such as Voters ID or Aadhaar Card pertaining to him and his surety at the time of executing bail bonds, furnish his residential address and shall inform the court if there is any change in the address, and provide his mobile number, WhatsApp contact, and email ID, if available. He is also barred from leaving the court’s jurisdiction without prior permission.

The court also prevents him from giving interviews or statements to the press, social media, television channels, or any other platform relating to the case. He must also mark attendance at the concerned police station on alternate days until the final charge sheet is filed.

Chinnaiah grabbed the attention when he filed a case on July 3 alleging that during his stint as a sanitation worker in Dharmasthala between 1995 and 2014, he was forced to dispose of bodies of murder and sexual assault victims.

He even produced skeletal remains before a magistrate on July 11, claiming they belonged to a woman. Forensic tests, however, later established that the remains were male, leading to his arrest on charges of perjury. Later a few more sections of BNS were added against him in the case.

Meanwhile the SIT led by Internal Security Division DGP Pronab Mohanty, constituted by the state government in the wake of his explosive allegations, carried out excavations at 17 sites in and around Dharmasthala. Human remains were found only at two locations—Spot No. 6 and on the ground, beneath a tree near Spot No. 11.

It was also said that a relative of a 2012 rape victim was involved in handing over the skull to Chinnaiah which the latter had produced in court claiming to have dug himself.

Chinnaiah who had earlier alleged secret burials, later during investigation alleged that he had made allegations due to pressure. He had also filed a revised voluntary statement before the court in Belthangady.

On Thursday, the SIT probing the alleged secret burials in Dharmasthala filed a 3,900 page complaint report before Additional Civil Judge.

The report named Chinnaiah, activists Mahesh Shetty Thimarody, Girish Mattennavar, Sujatha Bhat, Vittala Gowda and T Jayanth.