Over 1,500 suspicious UDRs under the scanner of Dharmasthala SIT

Bengaluru

Over 1,500 unnatural death cases have come under the scanner of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the mass burial case in Dharmasthala. This is explicitly mentioned in a report submitted to Karnataka State Commission for Women.

According to the SIT the investigation has moved beyond the statement of a single accused person (C N Chinnayya), with investigators expanding the scope of the probe to uncover several decades-old mysteries surrounding unexplained deaths and missing persons in and around Dharmasthala.

Seven human skulls and skeletal remains recovered

The SIT conducted extensive search operations in Banglegudde falling under the Dharmasthala police station jurisdiction, during which seven human skulls and skeletal remains were recovered.

The recovered remains have been sent for detailed scientific and forensic examination to ascertain whether they belong to men or women, determine the cause of death, and establish their identities. Investigators are also attempting to trace the blood relatives of the deceased through scientific analysis of the evidence collected from the spot.

More than 1,500 unnatural death cases under scanner

The SIT report states that it has collected data relating to disappearances of women and unnatural deaths reported between 1998 and 2014 in the Dharmasthala and Ujire regions.

Information gathered from various sources, including local police stations, gram panchayats, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), and the information office of the temple trust, has revealed a total of 1,510 Unnatural Death Report (UDR) cases. The SIT is now carrying out a detailed analysis of these records.

Year-wise data highlighted in the report shows that over 101 unnatural deaths were reported in 2002, 96 cases in 2009, and the highest number of 110 cases in 2014.

The SIT has reportedly found significant discrepancies between burial records and data maintained by local panchayats, prompting a deeper verification of the available records.

Old murder cases examined

The SIT report has also identified several old suspicious death and murder cases that are now being re-examined.

One such case relates to the murder of an unidentified woman whose face was allegedly disfigured with acid before her body was found near a roadside in Dharmasthala in September 2009. The SIT has gathered details indicating that her body was buried through a contractor at a cemetery in Nandigudda, Mangaluru.

Another case under scrutiny is the alleged murder of a woman in Room No. 246 of Sharavathi Lodge in Dharmasthala in 2010. According to available records, an unidentified person allegedly stuffed cloth into the victim’s mouth and strangled her. The post-mortem report in the case is reportedly missing from police station records, and SIT officials are conducting an intensive search to locate the document.

The SIT is also revisiting a 2003 case in which the bodies of a man aged around 35–45 years and a minor girl aged approximately 10–12 years were recovered near the bathing ghat dam area of the Netravathi River.

73 complaints Received by SIT

The report submitted to the Karnataka State Women Commission further reveals that the SIT has received 73 direct complaints from members of the public and families of alleged victims. Each complaint is being examined from all possible angles and investigated impartially.

Legal limitations and further investigation

At present, the SIT is conducting its probe under Crime No. 39/2025 registered at the Dharmasthala police station and has already submitted an interim report before the court.

However, the report notes that the SIT has legal limitations in independently taking over other old cases. It states that if the State Government or the Director General and Inspector General of Police (DG&IGP) formally transfers all missing person, murder and suspicious death cases reported in and around Dharmasthala to the SIT, the team is prepared to carry out a comprehensive and impartial investigation to uncover the complete truth.

The findings presented before the Karnataka State Women Commission indicate that the investigation is likely to widen further, with several long-buried mysteries surrounding unexplained deaths in the forest regions around Dharmasthala potentially coming under renewed scrutiny.