Dharmasthala Crimes: Baliga murder accused ‘funded SDPI leaders’ to spin Hindu–Muslim narrative in mass burial case

Bengaluru

A highly placed source in the state intelligence department said that an accused in the Vinayaka Baliga murder case has allegedly funded some leaders of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) to create a false Hindu–Muslim narrative in the high-profile Dharmasthala mass burial case.

Vinayak Baliga was hacked to death near his house in Kodailbail in the city on March 21, 2016. Police filed chargesheet against Naresh Shenoy, Shrikant, Shivaprasad, Vinit Poojary, Nishit Devadiga, Shailesh and Manjunath Shenoy.

On August 7, SDPI leaders and workers reportedly phoned Mahesh Shetty Thimarodi, urging him to meet them. The SDPI has no direct connection to this case, and Thimarodi questioned why they would want to meet him while the investigation is ongoing. He refused the request and issued a stern warning “not to turn up unannounced in front of his residence.” Thimarodi is a prominent leader of the Justice for Sowjanya forum.

Sources in the intelligence department told blrpost.com that an accused in the Baliga murder case funded certain SDPI leaders to stage a protest, meet Thimarodi, and approach others associated with Justice for Sowjanya activists. The plan’s toolkit was also allegedly provided by the same accused. SDPI members reportedly succeeded in meeting Kusumavathi and taking photographs, which were later used by the BJP and others opposed to the SIT probe to push a misleading narrative that “SDPI is behind destroying Hindu faith in Dharmasthala.”

The accused in the Baliga case is now under the scrutiny of multiple agencies, including the Counter Terrorism and Counter Radicalisation (CTCR) division of the Ministry of Home Affairs and the National Investigation Agency (NIA). If probed, sources say, this could potentially expose SDPI’s role in several other cases. The accused hails from Mangaluru.

Speaking to this website, Thimarodi said, “I sensed danger when they insisted on meeting. I decided not to meet them as they always come with vested interests. The government must investigate their reasons for wanting to meet me and who is behind them. The Justice for Sowjanya case has no links with SDPI leaders, and no leader from this party should interact with Sowjanya activists.”

It may be recalled that the State government formed the SIT on July 19 after a former sanitation worker of the Dharmasthala Temple Administration filed a police complaint on July 3, alleging he had been forced to bury hundreds of bodies. The SIT’s exhumation operations are ongoing.

Donate for fearless journalism