SIT visits Bangle Gudde yet again

Belthangady 

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the mass burial case visited the Bangle Gudde area again on Thursday, following the completion of two mahajars. The visit has now given rise to speculation about further exhumations.

A highly placed Home Ministry source told blrpost.com, “Simon C.A., Superintendent of Police, headed the team that entered the forest area in Bangle Gudde.” However, the source declined to reveal details of the visit, calling the matter “sensitive and highly confidential.”

The source further said that the discovery of a skull believed to belong to a child—based on its size—has shocked both Home Minister G. Parameshwara and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, leaving them speechless.

This third visit to the area, which already contains a large number of skeletal remains, has intensified speculation that the SIT may be directed to carry out a full exhumation to uncover what actually happened at Bangle Gudde.

It may be recalled that on Wednesday, the SIT inspected a site where a skull had been kept for several days after being recovered from a different location. On September 6, during the first mahajar, the sleuths found two skeletal remains. In the second mahajar, five more skeletons were recovered. Alongside the remains, investigators found vessels (kara), suspected to have been used in black magic rituals, as well as clothes. While SIT sources confirmed the skeletal remains, they declined to comment on the black magic angle, saying, “comments reserved.”

During the September 6 mahajar, the SIT was stunned by the sheer number of skeletal remains. Sources described the site as resembling a battlefield, with bones scattered on the surface, suggesting they had been dumped rather than buried. The discovery followed revelations that a skull earlier presented as evidence had originated from this location. A Home Ministry source confirmed the remains were extensive, though their age can only be determined by the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL). So far, the SIT has officially sent the remains of two individuals to the FSL.

Meanwhile, Chinnayya, arrested on August 23, remains in judicial custody. He faces charges of perjury and forgery of evidence related to the skull he submitted before a magistrate. The SIT was constituted on July 19 after Chinnayya lodged a complaint at Dharmasthala police station, alleging he had been forced to bury bodies illegally. He later gave a statement before a magistrate. Following this, the SIT carried out exhumation operations for two weeks, recovering skeletal remains of two individuals.