Overview

• A former temple sanitation worker alleges he was forced between 1995 and 2014 to bury and burn hundreds of bodies, many showing signs of sexual violence.
• On July 4 an FIR was filed under Section 211(a) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the whistleblower’s statement was recorded under Section 164/183 CrPC with witness protection granted.
• The four-member SIT, headed by DGP Pranav Mohanty, began operations on July 20 from the Dakshina Kannada district police office.
• The SIT has been ordered to transfer all related criminal cases statewide, oversee forensic exhumations under legal protocol and provide regular progress updates to senior police leadership.
• CPI MP P Sandosh Kumar and activists have urged the NIA to take over the investigation, citing concerns about impartiality and systemic failures.