The Dharmasthala mass burial case takes a twist as complainant Sujatha Bhat goes missing. Police find no evidence supporting her claims about her daughter Ananya’s disappearance, raising questions about her identity and motives.
Mangaluru: In a case that has gripped Karnataka with a mix of mystery and controversy, the Dharmasthala skeleton search investigation has taken yet another dramatic turn. The case first made headlines after explosive allegations claimed that hundreds of bodies were buried in and around the temple town of Dharmasthala. Now, the woman at the centre of those claims, complainant Sujatha Bhat, has gone missing, leaving police without a key witness. With no concrete evidence to back her statements and a string of unanswered questions about her identity and motives, investigators say the probe has hit a baffling roadblock.
What were Sujatha Bhat’s claims?
Sujatha Bhat alleged that her daughter, Ananya Bhat, went missing during a trip to Dharmasthala in 2003 while pursuing her MBBS at Manipal Medical College. She claimed that some people had seen temple staff escorting her daughter away and that the Belthangady police refused to register her complaint, instead scolding and dismissing her.
She further accused Dharmadhikari Veerendra Heggade and his brother Harshaendra Heggade of harassment. According to her, temple staff abducted and assaulted her that night, hitting her on the head, which left her in a three-month coma. She later requested that her daughter’s skeleton, if found, be returned to her.
Non-cooperation with the police investigation
After filing the complaint, Sujatha Bhat became unreachable, and her lawyer also refused to cooperate. When police asked for her daughter’s photograph or documents, she claimed they were all destroyed in a house fire. She did not possess her daughter’s SSLC certificate, PUC marks card, or any college records.
Meanwhile, a #JusticeForAnanyaBhat campaign gained traction on social media, drawing comparisons to the Soujanya case. However, the lack of documentation stalled the investigation.
Ananya Bhat’s name missing from Manipal records
Police sought to verify the most critical detail of her claim, that Ananya was studying MBBS at Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, in 2003. Upon checking records from 1998 to 2005 at both medical colleges under the Manipal Group, they found no student named Ananya Bhat D/O Anil Bhat. This raised serious doubts about the credibility of Sujatha Bhat’s allegations and left investigators questioning her identity and motives.
SIT excavates 15 burial sites in Dharmasthala
Acting on information from an anonymous complainant, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) excavated 15 locations in forest and riverbank areas around Dharmasthala in search of skeletons. They recovered one male body but found no other remains. The next steps in the probe are yet to be decided.