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Karnataka Halts Dharmasthala Exhumations Pending Forensic DNA Results

Officials say lab reports, not politics, will dictate the next steps.

Parameshwara tells Assembly FSL and chemical tests of soil and bones awaited in Dharmasthala

Overview

  • Home minister G. Parameshwara told the assembly the SIT has paused digging until chemical and DNA testing of collected soil and bone samples is complete.
  • Remains recovered at two locations—one skeleton and a few bones—have been sent to forensic labs, and preliminary checks indicate some of these, including a skull produced by the complainant, are male, according to officials.
  • A ground‑penetrating radar survey at a site where the complainant alleged 70–80 burials detected no human remains.
  • Parameshwara said expert reports will determine whether exhumations resume and emphasized that the SIT, not the government, will decide the course of the inquiry.
  • Political tensions sharpened as BJP leaders rallied behind the temple administration and senior Congress figures alleged a conspiracy, while the complainant remains under witness protection.