Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], July 21 : Former Karnataka Chief Minister and BJP MP Basavaraja Bommai on Monday called on police to take appropriate action into the alleged mass burial of human bodies in Dharmasthala.
The Karnataka government has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the matter.
Speaking to the media here on Monday, he said that the "locals and police personnel who have served in Dharmasthala for many years are well aware of the area. The complainant has claimed that they are under pressure. It must be investigated who exerted such pressure on the complainant. The police must take appropriate action regarding the incident that occurred."
Dharmasthala is an ancient temple known for its spiritual significance and public trust, he observed. "No actions should be taken that erode the public's faith in this temple."
Spokesperson of Dharmasthala, K Parshwanath Jain, on Sunday welcomed the decision of the Karnataka government to constitute an SIT probe.
Jain stated that a case was recently registered at the Dharmasthala police station, which claimed that "several dead bodies were buried" in the region, which "sparked widespread debate, speculations, and confusion at the national level in recent days."
Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Sunday said that the Special Investigation Team will probe the Dharmasthala mass burial case as there is "public hue and cry" over the matter.
The development follows a letter from the Karnataka State Women's Commission (KSWC).
"The government has constituted an SIT to look into the Dharmasthala issues. There has been a complaint. There has been a public hue and cry. The government has taken note of all this and then constituted an SIT to look into this entire thing. If somebody is thinking of creating some political issue out of this at this point in time, I don't want to react to all that," Parameshwara had earlier told reporters.
On July 16, a group of concerned public-interest lawyers met CM Siddaramaiah at the Chief Minister's Residence "Krishna" to urgently request the constitution of an SIT to probe the alleged incidents of mass murder, mass rape, and mass burial at Dharmasthala.