https://sg.news.yahoo.com/hundreds-were-allegedly-raped-killed-211817780.html
Sat, 26 July 2025 at 5:18 am SGT·3-min read
Anand Kumar KR / Alamy
Dharmasthala Shiva Temple is an 800-year-old religious institution in the temple town of Dharmasthala in Dakshina Kannada
A temple in India is under investigation after a whistleblower came forward to police alleging he was threatened into burying hundreds of women and girls who were sexually assaulted before being murdered.
The 48-year-old man is a former employee at Dharmasthala, a pilgrimage village in the southwestern state of Karnataka, per Al Jazeera, Deutsche-Welle and local outlet India Today.
He has not been publicly named.
The man, who came forward on July 3, told police he worked at the temple from 1995 before leaving in 2014, Al Jazeera and DW reported.
During this time, he alleges, he was threatened into burying hundreds of bodies, many of the minor girls, according to the complaint he filed with police, which was obtained by DW and Al Jazeera.
“Many female corpses were found without clothes or undergarments," he wrote in the complaint. "Some corpses showed clear signs of sexual assault and violence; injuries or strangulation marks indicating violence were visible on those bodies."
The former sanitation worker first noticed something odd about the temple soon after he joined, when he noticed bodies of women and girls would wash up by the river near the temple, he told police, according to Al Jazeera and DW.
At first, he thought they were cases of suicide, but he soon allegedly noticed the bodies didn't have clothes and had signs of sexual assault.
He recalled one particularly jarring incident when he found the body of a school girl who still had her uniform on, but without the skirt and underwear.
"There were strangulation marks on her neck,” he said in his statement to authorities, per Al Jazeera and DW. “They instructed me to dig a pit and bury her along with her school bag. That scene remains disturbing to this day.”
He alleged that he was threatened with his own life and his family's life if he did not follow orders.
"We will cut you into pieces; your body will also be buried like the other corpses; we will sacrifice all your family members," were words his supervisor told him, the man alleged, according to DW and Al Jazeera.
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The whistleblower also recalled witnessing "extremely cruel" murders in the town near the temple.
"Poor and destitute men who came for begging in the Dharmasthala area were systematically murdered … They would be tied to chairs in rooms and suffocated from behind using towels," he alleged in the complaint, per DW. "These murders took place in my presence."
He said he decided to come forward to "recover from an insurmountable sense of guilt," per DW and Al Jazeera.
"I can no longer bear the burden of memories of the murders I witnessed, the continuous death threats to bury the corpses I received, and the pain of beatings — that if I did not bury those corpses, I would be buried alongside them," he said in the statement.
Authorities have set up a special investigation unit to look into the case.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
Read the original article on People
Hundreds Were Allegedly Raped, Killed at Temple — and Whistleblower Says He Buried Them
The Dharmasthala in southwestern India is under investigation after a former temple worker came forward
Samira Asma-SadequeSat, 26 July 2025 at 5:18 am SGT·3-min read
Anand Kumar KR / Alamy
Dharmasthala Shiva Temple is an 800-year-old religious institution in the temple town of Dharmasthala in Dakshina Kannada
A temple in India is under investigation after a whistleblower came forward to police alleging he was threatened into burying hundreds of women and girls who were sexually assaulted before being murdered.
The 48-year-old man is a former employee at Dharmasthala, a pilgrimage village in the southwestern state of Karnataka, per Al Jazeera, Deutsche-Welle and local outlet India Today.
He has not been publicly named.
The man, who came forward on July 3, told police he worked at the temple from 1995 before leaving in 2014, Al Jazeera and DW reported.
During this time, he alleges, he was threatened into burying hundreds of bodies, many of the minor girls, according to the complaint he filed with police, which was obtained by DW and Al Jazeera.
“Many female corpses were found without clothes or undergarments," he wrote in the complaint. "Some corpses showed clear signs of sexual assault and violence; injuries or strangulation marks indicating violence were visible on those bodies."
The former sanitation worker first noticed something odd about the temple soon after he joined, when he noticed bodies of women and girls would wash up by the river near the temple, he told police, according to Al Jazeera and DW.
At first, he thought they were cases of suicide, but he soon allegedly noticed the bodies didn't have clothes and had signs of sexual assault.
He recalled one particularly jarring incident when he found the body of a school girl who still had her uniform on, but without the skirt and underwear.
"There were strangulation marks on her neck,” he said in his statement to authorities, per Al Jazeera and DW. “They instructed me to dig a pit and bury her along with her school bag. That scene remains disturbing to this day.”
He alleged that he was threatened with his own life and his family's life if he did not follow orders.
"We will cut you into pieces; your body will also be buried like the other corpses; we will sacrifice all your family members," were words his supervisor told him, the man alleged, according to DW and Al Jazeera.
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.
The whistleblower also recalled witnessing "extremely cruel" murders in the town near the temple.
"Poor and destitute men who came for begging in the Dharmasthala area were systematically murdered … They would be tied to chairs in rooms and suffocated from behind using towels," he alleged in the complaint, per DW. "These murders took place in my presence."
He said he decided to come forward to "recover from an insurmountable sense of guilt," per DW and Al Jazeera.
"I can no longer bear the burden of memories of the murders I witnessed, the continuous death threats to bury the corpses I received, and the pain of beatings — that if I did not bury those corpses, I would be buried alongside them," he said in the statement.
Authorities have set up a special investigation unit to look into the case.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
Read the original article on People
