SIT records Chinnayya’s statement inside Shivamogga prison

Shivamogga/Bengaluru

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Dharmasthala mass burial case has been recording the statement of the accused, Chinnayya, under Section 180 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) inside Shivamogga prison. He is currently under judicial custody.

A highly placed source in the Home Ministry told blrpost.com “from the past two to three days, his statement has been recorded inside the prison. The statement is being taken under Section 180. This is a police statement recorded after the completion of statements before the magistrate on September 27. He made some very disturbing remarks in his second statement recorded under Section 183 of the BNSS.”

The source further said that for the purpose of investigation, his police statement was necessary. The first statement under Section 183, given on July 11, also remains valid and is being read in conjunction with the second one. However, the SIT has remained tight-lipped about the contents of his statements.

There were reports in some mainstream media outlets claiming that, in his second Section 183 statement, Chinnayya confessed to burying 10 bodies in one location. The SIT has neither confirmed nor denied this claim.

It may be recalled that Chinnayya filed a complaint at the Dharmasthala Police Station on July 3, alleging that he had been coerced into burying bodies illegally and that some individuals had been subjected to violence. He reiterated these allegations in court under Section 183 of the BNSS. Based on his statement, the Karnataka government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) on July 19 to probe the allegations.

For over two weeks, the SIT conducted exhumation operations and discovered two skeletal remains. Later, on August 23, the SIT arrested Chinnayya on charges of perjury and forgery after he claimed that he had lied in court. His statement was subsequently recorded again under the same section.