HC stays SIT probe into mass burial case, investigations on UDRs to continue

Bengaluru

The Karnataka High Court (HC) has stayed the Special Investigation Probe (SIT) probe into Dharmasthala mass burial case (39/2025) on Thursday. The petition to quash the First Information Report (FIR) was filed by the Soujanya activists.

The SIT has summoned Mahesh Shetty Thimarodi, Girish Mattanavar, Vittal Gowda and Jayanth T under section 35 (3) of the Bharatiya Nakarika Suraksha Sanhita (BNNS). They were summoned as suspects in the KASs burial case.

Justice Mohammad Nawaz granted stay citing procedural lapses in filing the FIR. Advocates for petitioners, S Balan and Deepak Khosla argued that the activists were summoned multiple times and subjected to undue trouble. The Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) B Jagadish informed the court that in the first BNNS 183 statement, the activists were summoned as witnesses and now they are suspects.

Although the HC stayed the probe into this FIR, the investigation into missing cases in last two decades and Unnatural Death Reports (UDRs) registered in Dharmasthala police station and Belthangady police station will continue.