Dharmasthala: Excavation at 13th Spot Yields No Human Remains
The SIT was formed by the state government after a July 3 complaint from a former sanitation worker who alleged that several bodies had been secretly buried in Dharmasthala.
Mangaluru: Excavation at the 13th spot, considered a challenging point, marked by the whistleblower in the Dharmasthala “secret burials” case, yielded no human remains on Wednesday.
Spot No. 13, located on Ajikuri Road near the bathing ghat, was dug in two stages — the first on Tuesday and the second on Wednesday — with no remains found on either day.
Officials used a mini excavator and an earthmover to dig a pit measuring about 17 feet deep, 7 feet wide, and 20 feet long on Wednesday. Water seepage into the pit was pumped out with the help of a diesel pump during the lunch break, but the day’s search ended with nothing recovered. The pit was then refilled with soil.
Spot number 13 had remained untouched during earlier search phases that began on July 29. So far, the SIT has excavated 16 locations, with human remains recovered at only two — Spot No. 6 and beneath a tree near Spot No. 11.
The SIT was formed by the state government after a July 3 complaint from a former sanitation worker who alleged that several bodies had been secretly buried in Dharmasthala.
In a related development, two witnesses — Purandar Gowda and Tukaram Gowda —appeared before the SIT on Wednesday, claiming they saw bodies being buried in some of the whistleblower-marked locations. One witness said the person involved resembled the whistleblower, while the other was unsure but confirmed witnessing burials.
Meanwhile, the police team probing the alleged 2003 disappearance of Ananya Bhat has encountered hurdles. Her mother, Sujatha Bhat, filed a petition on July 15 seeking the mortal remains of her daughter — if found during the Dharmasthala exhumation — so she could perform the last rites. She alleged that when Ananya went missing, both the local police and the temple administration failed to help her.
According to sources, the police officials who are probing into the case, following Sujatha Bhat’s petition, have not yet found records of Ananya Bhat in the institution where Sujatha claimed her daughter studied. Investigators have also been unable to obtain further information from Sujatha. The case remains under investigation.
