Overview

• On July 16 the former sanitation worker and his lawyers arrived at an alleged burial site in Dharmasthala but departed after waiting over an hour without any police presence.
• Dakshina Kannada SP K Arun said exhumations will follow proper legal process and that police have sought court approval for brain mapping, fingerprinting and narco-analysis.
• Police maintain they cannot provide witness protection without knowing the whistleblower’s whereabouts and say confidential information suggests he could abscond once bodies are exhumed.
• Lawyers Dheeraj SJ and Ananya Gowda counter that authorities were informed of the witness’s temporary address and accuse the police of inexplicable delays in conducting mahazar procedures.
• A delegation of senior advocates led by S Balan and CS Dwarakanath urged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to appoint an independent probe and expedite forensic validation of the remains.