Dharmasthala case: SIT takes arrested witness-complainant Chinnayya for spot mahazar

Mangaluru: The SIT, probing the allegations of multiple rapes, murders and burials in Dharmasthala over a period of the past two decades, on Saturday took arrested witness-complainant Chinnayya to undisclosed locations for a spot mahazar, police sources said.

According to information available from the sources in the district police, Chinnaiah is being taken to Bengaluru, where he allegedly got the human skull; the SIT team escorted him under tight security around 6 am to conduct mahazars at sites linked to his statements. The officials also said to have seized documents during the exercise.

However, there has been no official word on the exact locations where Chinnayya was taken. "The process was carried out early in the morning in view of security concerns. Details of the places visited and documents secured cannot be disclosed at this stage," a source familiar with the investigation said.

A controversy erupted after a complainant, later identified as C N Chinnaiah and arrested on charges of perjury, claimed burying a number of bodies, including those of women with signs of sexual assault, in Dharmasthala over a period of time, with the implications pointing towards the administrators of the local temple. The BJP had protested against targeting the temple. Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar had also warned of action if the complaint was false.

Veerendra Heggade, the Dharmadhikari or the custodian of the temple too had welcomed the constitution of the SIT.