Dharmasthala mass burial case: SIT gets new complaint on missing female medical student

Mangaluru: Amid the probe into the alleged mass burial in Dharmasthala here, the Special Investigation Team (SIT)  has received a complaint regarding the alleged disappearance of a medical student more than two decades ago.

According to police, Sujata Bhat filed a complaint on July 15, 2025, at Dharmasthala Police Station, claiming that her daughter, Ananya Bhat, went missing from the Dharmasthala temple premises in 2003.

Following a review, the Director General and Inspector General of Police, on August 19, transferred the case to the SIT for further investigation, reported PTI.

The development comes as the Dharmasthala case continues to receive intense public scrutiny, with multiple complaints alleging serious crimes. The SIT has been tasked with piecing together decades-old accounts while also addressing emerging complaints that continue to surface.

Officials have declined to comment on whether the new case is connected to earlier allegations, stating that the SIT would examine the claims independently.

The SIT, formed by the state government, is probing claims of mass murder, rape, and mass burials in Dharmasthala over the past two decades.

The complainant, a former sanitation worker whose identity has not been revealed, alleged that between 1995 and 2014 he was forced to handle bodies including women and minorsand that some showed signs of sexual assault. He has given a statement before a magistrate.

As part of the probe, the SIT has been conducting investigation at multiple locations identified by the complainant-witness in the forested areas along the banks of the Netravathi River in Dharmasthala, where some skeletal remains have been found at two sites so far.