SIT personnel coming out with skeletal remains seized from Banglagudde in Dharmasthala on September 17, 2025.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRAGEMENT
The alleged mass burials in Dharmasthala village has taken a curious turn with the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case finding two more skulls at Banglagudde near Dharmasthala on Thursday. The team seized the skulls.The SIT found five skulls and 100 bones at Banglagudde on Wednesday, and all of them were found lying on the ground in the forest area, according to sources. And, the skulls that were found on Thursday were also on the ground.Meanwhile, the identity card that was found at the spot on Wednesday was that of one U.B. Ayyappa, 70, of Shettigeri village, Ponnampete taluk, in Kodgau district. He went missing after he had gone to Mysuru for medical treatment some years ago. His family members had filed a missing complaint with the Kodgau police, the sources said.Now, the SIT police have begun investigating whether any of the skulls found on the spot included that of Ayyappa.Chinnaiah produced before courtThe complainant in the mass burial case, Chinnaiah, who was arrested for perjury and lodged in the Shivamogga jail, was produced before the Belthangady court on Thursday in connection with recording his statement. He will again be produced before the court on September 23, the sources said.Earlier, when Chinnaiah was quizzed by the SIT following his arrest, he said that the skeletal remains he produced before the magistrate in Belthangady at the time of recording his statement, after filing the complaint, were given to him by Vittala Gowda, the uncle of Soujanya, who was raped and murdered in October 2012.Later, the SIT questioned Gowda and took him twice, a few days ago, to Banglagudde, for ‘mahazar’, as he told the SIT that he got the skeletal remains from Banglagudde. The SIT began searching the area.In an interview to a local news website, Gowda claimed that he saw skeletal remains of eight persons, including a young child, and a few articles related to black magic at Banglagudde during his two visits for ‘mahazar’. Published - September 18, 2025 09:25 pm IST
