Skeletal remains force India to probe Dharmasthala mass burial claims

The government in India’s southern state of Karnataka has started a special investigation into allegations of a mass burial at Dharmasthala, a major pilgrimage centre, following a confession by a former sanitation worker that has sent shock waves across the country.

In a formal complaint to police dated July 3 – a copy of which has been seen by This Week in Asia – the worker revealed that between 1998 and 2014, he was allegedly instructed to bury “hundreds of bodies” of women and children.

Some of the victims, he claimed, had been raped. “Many of the female bodies were without clothing or underwear. Some bore clear signs of sexual assault and violence: wounds or strangulation that indicated violence,” the complaint stated.

The 48-year-old sanitation worker, who belongs to the marginalised Dalit community, said he was coerced by some “influential people” into performing the burials to protect himself and his family.

On July 19, the Karnataka government formed a special investigation team (SIT) amid demands from several sections of society.

The latest allegation has brought the spotlight back on previous cases, mostly involving young girls and linked to Dharmasthala, one of which was the missing daughter of former stenographer Sujatha Bhat.