With a whistleblower’s gristly confession of hundreds of buried bodies unraveling, and forensic analysis showing that the skull he dramatically produced was likely a 40-year-old lab specimen, the state has been under pressure to unearth what BJP leaders and many others see as a conspiracy against the powerful Dharmasthala Manjunatha temple and the Heggade family that controls it.
The SIT’s investigation too seems to suggest a conspiracy.
“Forensic experts confirmed the skull was not genuine evidence of a mass grave,” a senior SIT officer said, asking not to be named. “It was obtained from a research facility, preserved with varnish, and had nothing to do with the claims made in court.”
The complainant, CN Chinnayya said in his testimony in July, delivered in the presence of his lawyer, that the skull came from a mass burial site in Dharmasthala where he claimed hundreds of bodies were hidden. His statement sparked outrage and triggered searches at 17 locations in the temple town.
Chinnaya was arrested by the SIT on Saturday and questioned for hours. Officials said he disclosed the names of several people who either assisted him or sheltered him during the weeks leading up to his July testimony
“All of his statements have been recorded on video,” the SIT officer quoted above said, noting that notices will be issued to the individuals identified. Investigators are treating the disclosures as significant in piecing together how the skull was acquired, transported, and presented as evidence.
Chinnayya also underwent a medical examination on Sunday. Officials described him as visibly shaken, and that he requested to be moved to jail. According to SIT officials, he claimed his life was under threat from the people who supplied him with the skull .
SIT is also looking for Chinnayya’s mobile phone. SIT officials suspect the device was taken by associates before he appeared in court with the skull on July 11. “The missing phone is critical,” the SIT officer said. “We believe it may contain important data that could show how this conspiracy was coordinated.”
Officials said that since July, Chinnayya has sheltered in the home of Mahesh Shetty Timrodi, one of the men now facing notices from police. Acting on advice from his lawyer, Chinnayya gave interviews to media outlets in the weeks before his arrest , a move the SIT believes may have been part of a wider plan.
The case has widened to include several others. Police in Beltangady have issued a notice to Timrodi for allegedly obstructing officers while he was being taken to Brahmavar police station last week. At least a dozen others, including Girish Mattannavar and Jayanth T, have been named in connection with the obstruction.
SIT has also summoned Sujaata Bhat, who made the sensational claim that her daughter Ananya Bhat went missing in the temple town in 2003, only to later claim that she had no daughter.
For now, SIT officials are continuing to piece together the chain of events leading to July 11. “Our investigation is still ongoing,” the officer said. “The disclosures made so far point to a wider conspiracy, and more information will come to light as we follow every lead.”
Even as investigators deepen their inquiry, the case has become a flashpoint between Karnataka’s ruling Congress and the Opposition BJP-JD(S) alliance. Union minister Pralhad Joshi weighed in on the controversy on Monday, framing it as an assault on faith.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Joshi alleged that the case amounted to “an attack on the religious sentiments of crores of Hindus.”
He alleged that “anti-Dharmasthala forces” were using toolkits to defame the revered shrine. “The government has tried to destroy the sanctity of Dharmasthala, which has been preserved for decades,” Joshi wrote.
Parameshwara, however, said, “Who are we to say that the Dharmasthala case should be investigated this way and that way? Police will do whatever is required for the investigation.”
