Missing girl Hemalatha
DK police admits complaint 13 years after girl went missing in Dharmasthala
Bengaluru
In what may be seen as gross police apathy, 13 years after a 17-year-old girl went missing in Dharmasthala, the Dakshina Kannada police have finally admitted a complaint filed by her brother.
Hemavathi alias Hemalatha (17), daughter of Narayana Devadiga and a resident of Kavalamuduru in Bantwal taluk, was reportedly taken to the Dharmasthala Temple in 2012 by a person identified as Vasanthi, an Anganwadi worker.
While Vasanthi returned home, Hemalatha never came back. Speaking to blrpost.com, her younger brother Nitin Devadiga said, “we went to the Punjalkatte police station to file a complaint in 2012 immediately after she went missing. But the police refused to register it. They sent us away, saying they would search for her, but they did nothing.”
At that time, Vasanthi allegedly lied to the family, claiming she had not accompanied Hemalatha to the temple. Devadiga said his sister was visiting the Anganwadi centre to learn about the work as the family wanted her to take up the job to support their livelihood.
He further said that Vasanthi had taken Hemalatha to Dharmasthala once before. During the second visit to the temple town with Vasanthi, she went missing.
The family, struggling financially, was unable to pursue the case as the police remained hostile. However, after the State government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) on July 19, 2025 to probe missing cases in Dharmathala, Devadiga submitted a petition regarding the missing person. The SIT instructed him to approach the local police, which he did.
After showing the SIT’s acknowledgment, the Punjalkatte police finally admitted Devadiga’s complaint as a petition on August 14, 2025, and began a probe. The police have since visited the family thrice and collected all details about Hemalatha.
Sources said the police also visited Vasanthi’s residence. During the visit, Vasanthi allegedly threatened to end her life if the cops came to her house again.
I hope more family people whose relatives went missing in Dharmasthala, will come forward to register official complaints now
This is proof, that family whose relatives went missing in and around Dharmasthala , were intimidated and their complaints were not even registered. What will a poor person with no resources do, if police won’t even register the case? People ask how can thousands go missing and no one enquired about them. Actually the relatives did try to find them, but no cases were registered, and even if cases were registered, they were never investigated