After chasing Chinnayya’s claims, SIT finds murder of woman; police had filed C report

Bengaluru

The Special Investigation Team (SIT), which probed the claims made by accused C N Chinnayya, has found that an alleged murder of a woman did take place in 2010 in Dharmasthala village. According to the findings, the woman was burnt to death and buried near what was identified as spot number one during the exhumation operation.

Sources in the Home Department told blrpost.com that Chinnayya, even in his second statement recorded under Section 183 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), claimed that the body of a burnt woman had been buried at spot number one in Dharmasthala village in the presence of the police.

The SIT initially investigated the claim but was unable to immediately ascertain what had actually happened, as several local residents said they could not recall such an incident. During further inquiry, a local journalist provided vague information, stating that “the incident happened after he bought a motorbike in 2009.” However, the SIT could not trace any such incident during that year.

Subsequently, the SIT examined police records and traced a First Information Report (FIR) related to the case. The FIR bears number 111/2010. According to the FIR, a woman was allegedly murdered and the body had burn injuries. Investigators found that the body had been buried, and the SIT also came across a news report related to the incident, along with a photograph.

Further scrutiny revealed that the Belthangady police had later submitted a C-report in the case, stating that the accused could not be traced. This development, according to SIT sources, indicates that Chinnayya’s claims contained an element of truth. The sources described his statements as a “mixture of truth and lies.”

No conspiracy against Dharmasthala

A source in the SIT clarified that the complaint report submitted before the Belthangady court on November 20, does not conclude that activists had conspired against the Dharmasthala authorities. The source said the alleged conspiracy pertains to committing perjury and not to any plot against the temple authorities.

The SIT has also not issued any clean chit to the authorities. The probe into suspicious Unnatural Death Reports (UDRs), missing complaints, and matters related to Bangle Gudde is still underway, sources said.