Dharmasthala whistleblower arrested: From confessions to custody - and mystery of temple town 'mass murders'

NEW DELHI: The Dharmasthala mass burial case in Karnataka took an unexpected turn on Saturday after the special investigation team arrested the complainant and witness Chinnaiah after "inconsistencies" were found in his statements and documents during questioning.He was earlier referred to as the 'masked man' as he had kept his identity hidden while seeking protection as a witness in the alleged crimes."It is true that he has been arrested and is in police custody. As the investigation is on, no information can be shared. The police (SIT) investigation is on, and they have arrested him. SIT will share the details," Karnataka home minister G Parameshwara told reporters.She has since made contradictory statements, reportedly saying she never had a daughter and that a false complaint was filed at the instigation of others. She later retracted that statement as well.Meanwhile, a woman named Sujata Bhat backtracked on her claim that her daughter had gone missing in Dharmasthala. She had claimed that daughter, Ananya Bhat, apparently an MBBS student, had gone missing.What is the Dharmasthala case?The case stems from the allegations of multiple murders, rapes, and burials across different places in Dharmasthala over the past two decades.The complainant Chinnaiah, a former sanitation worker, claimed he worked in Dharmasthala between 1995 and 2014 and was forced to bury several bodies, including those of women and minors.In his written complaint, he claimed that he had recently returned to one of the burial sites and exhumed skeletal remains, photographs of which were submitted to the authorities.He alleged that some of the bodies bore signs of sexual assault and had recorded a statement before a magistrate.The government, then instructed the police that all criminal cases related to the matter—reported or anticipated—in police stations across Karnataka be transferred to the SIT.What's nextAccording to Parameshwara, the SIT id likely to continue its investigation based on the statements given by the complainant.Asked whether there was a network behind the complainant, Parameshwara said, "It has to be identified whether there was any network or not. Once the probe report comes, it will be known."To a question on why narcoanalysis of the complainant, suggested by Dakshina Kannada police a month ago, was delayed, the minister said, "once the case was handed over to SIT, the government will not give directions on how the investigation should happen. What methods SIT uses to bring out the truth is left to its chief. We won’t direct".Also known as truth serum, narcoanalysis has been used for solving crucial cases in the past.