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Mass grave scandal, cover-up claims rock southern Indian state
Updated: 4:10pm, 22 Jul 2025
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 Saturday, 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.
Protesters hold a rally in Bangalore on Monday recalling the 2012 rape and murder of a young girl in Dharmastala. Photo: EPA
Believing her daughter, Ananya, might be among the unidentified victims mentioned in the sanitation worker’s testimony, Sujatha filed a fresh police report on Tuesday last week. Ananya, 18, went missing in 2003 during a college trip to the centre.
In 2012, Dharmasthala also made headlines after the body of 17-year-old Sowjanya from the centre was found in a forest, with signs of rape and severe injury. The case was transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation under public pressure but remains unresolved to date.
S. Balan, a senior lawyer in the Karnataka High Court, told This Week in Asia there were 367 missing girls in Dharmasthala town.
“It is very difficult to take the temple head on. It is a kingdom in itself … The temple has 75,000 staff and 40,000 crore rupees (US$4.64 billion) income,” said Balan, who was among a delegation of lawyers meeting Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Balan alleged most of the killings that had taken place in Dharmasthala over the years were either associated with politics or a land grab. “Nobody has to date dared to go against the temple – not even previous chief ministers nor the prime ministers. But I hope now this time the SIT will investigate all the wrongdoings.”
Siddaramaiah last Friday said there had been no pressure on his administration over the investigation. “The government will act as per law,” the chief minister said.
In a statement released on Sunday, the Dharmasthala temple authority expressed support for a “fair and transparent” investigation and expressed hope that the SIT would uncover the truth.
“A case was recently registered at the Dharmasthala police station, alleging that multiple dead bodies were buried within temple premises. This has triggered widespread public debate and confusion across the country,” said K. Parshwanath Jain, the official spokesman for Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala.
“Truth and belief form the foundation of a society’s ethics and values. We sincerely hope and strongly urge the SIT to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation and bring the true facts to light.”
C. Manjula, the former chair of the Karnataka State Women’s Commission, said she welcomed the SIT formation and hoped the state government could get to the bottom of the case.
“When it comes to women’s issues, we are always for a proper probe into the matter. As of now, I will wait for the outcome of the investigation,” Manjula told This Week in Asia.
‘Disturbing to this day’
Among the bodies he buried was one of a teenage girl wearing her uniform shirt, showing “clear signs of sexual assault, and a strangulation mark on her neck”, the sanitation worker said in his complaint. “They instructed me to dig a pit and bury her along with her school bag. That scene remains disturbing to this day.”Another body he recalled was that of a woman in her twenties whose face had been burned with acid.
The complainant also revealed that men too were killed at the pilgrimage site.
“I witnessed many incidents where poor and destitute men who came begging in the Dharmasthala area were systematically murdered. The method of killing them was extremely cruel. They would be tied to chairs in rooms and suffocated from behind using towels. These murders took place in my presence,” he alleged.
“I was instructed to bury these bodies in distant forest areas. During my employment period, I buried dead bodies in several locations throughout the Dharmasthala area. Sometimes, as instructed, I burned dead bodies using diesel.”
An Indian man seeks alms on a street in Hyderabad, India. Photo: AP
The sanitation worker revealed that in December 2014, he fled from Dharmasthala with his family, after a female minor from his own family was allegedly sexually assaulted by someone linked to his supervisors.
“Since then, we have been living in hiding in fear for our lives in a neighbouring state. We have been changing residences too. However, I am still living under the burden of guilt that does not subside,” he said. “My conscience no longer allows me to continue this silence.”
As proof of his complaint, he said he recently exhumed one of the bodies in secret. On July 11, he took some of the skeletal remains before the principal civil judge and judicial magistrate at the Belthangady court.
He said he was willing to identify additional burial sites and name the perpetrators, but only if granted witness protection.
“The hundreds of dead bodies I have buried have been deprived of proper respect and funeral rites. My belief is that if the skeletons now exhumed receive respectful funeral rites, those tormented souls will find peace and my sense of guilt could also decrease.”
A lawyer closely monitoring the case but requesting anonymity was hopeful that after the SIT formation, the investigation would move faster.
“The complainant is ready to cooperate with the SIT. He is waiting to join the investigation. We are hopeful that soon he will be called for the excavation process,” the lawyer told This Week in Asia.
As a precaution, the whistle-blower’s legal counsel confirmed that he had also submitted a sealed envelope naming the accused persons to Supreme Court lawyer K.V. Dhananjay, in case he was silenced or harmed.
