C.N. Chinna
| Photo Credit: File photo
C.N. Chinna, (Chinnaiah), who has been accused of filing a false complaint of mass burial of bodies in Dharmasthala village, has filed a complaint before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) accusing four fellow accused in the Dharmasthala case of harassing him and his family members. In addition to Chinna, activists Mahesh Shetty Thimarody, Girish Mattannavar, Jayant, and Sujatha Bhat are other accused in the Dharmasthala case.Meanwhile, the Opposition BJP has demanded a CBI probe into the episode to unearth the truth.In the complaint filed at the SIT station in Belthangady on Monday, June 15, Chinna said he recently filed a writ petition seeking direction to the SIT for submission of the final report before the Belthangady court in connection with his complaint.A 3,900-page preliminary report was submitted to the Belthangady court in which the SIT accused Chinna, Thimarody, Mattannavar, Jayant, and Bhat of filing a false complaint before the court, and also accused Chinna of giving a false statement on oath before the magistrate. On January 3, 2026, the court had directed the SIT to submit its final report.Following the writ petition, Chinna’s relative Purushottam received a call on June 12 from a media house, which asked him about who gave funds for the writ petition and who was behind the writ petition. The media house also asked for Chinna’s contact number stating that it wanted to speak to him. That night, Ravi, another relative of Chinnaiah, received a phone call from Mattannavar, who asked Ravi the same questions that the media house had posed. Mattannavar also sought Chinna’s contact number, the complaint by Chinna said.The tone and tenor of their questions were of those of harassment to withdraw the writ petition, Chinna alleged, further claiming that they were trying to hinder the investigation and force him to stop his legal fight. Their queries were causing fear in the minds of his family members, he said. Purushottam and Ravi were prime witnesses in the case and Mattannavar and the other accused were trying to harass them and their family members, Chinna alleged.Chinna has asked the SIT to take action against Mattannavar and other accused persons.Meanwhile, alleging that there was a conspiracy to defame the pilgrimage centre of Dharmasthala, C. T. Ravi, BJP MLC, has written to the Chief Minister seeking that the episode be handed over to CBI for an inquiry to unearth the conspiracy. In the letter, he said there were allegations that ₹200 crore had been pumped in to rake up a controversy. He maintained that only a CBI probe could bring out the truth as some of those allegedly involved in the episode were from other States too.Chief Whip of the Opposition in the Legislative Council N. Ravi Kumar too urged the State government to hand over the Dharmasthala issue to the CBI for a “comprehensive inquiry” as the episode had inter-State ramifications and a possible foreign hand. Published - June 15, 2026 09:43 pm IST
