Mass rapes, murders, and systemic silence — Karnataka must confront its darkest truth
A chilling whistleblower account has torn through the facade of Dharmasthala — the revered temple town in Karnataka — revealing a horror story of mass rapes, murders, and secret burials spanning nearly two decades. Between 1995 and 2014, the very land celebrated as a cradle of dharma may have doubled as a graveyard for countless women and minors — their bodies dumped, burned, or buried in forested silence.
According to an anonymous former sanitation worker employed by the Dharmasthala temple trust, hundreds of corpses — many showing signs of rape, strangulation, acid burns, or clothed in school uniforms — were systematically disposed of under threat and coercion. If this is not a national disgrace, what is?
This is not about blaming one party or another. It’s about a collective rot. Successive governments looked away. Law enforcement failed. The temple’s moral high ground crumbled under the weight of these allegations. And the silence — maintained for decades — now screams complicity.
The first public tremor came in 2012 with the brutal rape and murder of 17-year-old Sowjanya, a pre-university student. Despite massive public protests, the accused was acquitted in 2023 — a verdict many believe was manipulated by powerful local interests tied to temple leadership. The case became a symbol of how power shields predators and buries justice.
Residents say Sowjanya was not alone. Over 460 suspicious or unnatural deaths were reported in Belthangady taluk between 2000 and 2012 — most never investigated. Families of missing women allege they were dismissed or intimidated by police. Until 2016, Dharmasthala didn’t even have a police station — an omission that now looks suspicious, if not strategic.
Who Must Answer?
- The Temple Trust: The whistleblower claims he and others were forced by temple-affiliated supervisors to conceal bodies. If true, this is not just abuse of spiritual power — it’s criminal conspiracy.
- The Local Police and Bureaucracy: Repeated inaction, suppression of complaints, and failure to investigate screams of institutional betrayal.
- The Governments in Power (1995–2014): Be it Congress, BJP, or JD(S) — who was sleeping when minors were being raped and bodies buried?
On July 4, 2025, after the whistleblower’s affidavit went public, an FIR was finally registered under Section 211(a) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Skeletal remains were recovered days later, sparking public outrage. On July 19, the Siddaramaiah-led government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by DGP Pronab Mohanty, to probe the crimes.
The Karnataka State Commission for Women, led by Dr. Nagalakshmi Choudhary, has demanded a full-scale investigation into decades of rape, murder, and disappearances — not just of Sowjanya, but every victim lost to Dharmasthala’s shadow history.
Why an Independent SIT Is Non-Negotiable
The SIT must function independently — ideally under the supervision of a sitting High Court judge. Anything less will be seen as a cover-up. The credibility of this investigation cannot rest in the hands of the same system that failed these victims for two decades.
Critically, over 8,800 online links relating to these cases have been taken down — allegedly under pressure from entities linked to the temple leadership. This censorship is not just cowardly; it obstructs justice.
What Must Be Done — Now
- Empower the SIT with judicial oversight and independent forensic teams.
- Deploy Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) across all 13 identified burial sites.
- Protect whistleblowers, survivors, and families with legal and physical safety guarantees.
- Hold police accountable — prosecute those who failed to register complaints or buried investigations.
- Investigate the temple trust’s role — from supervisory abuse to systemic silence.
- Publish all findings — transparently and without delay.
Given the Congress party’s long record of minority appeasement and selective justice, the Siddaramaiah-led Karnataka government simply cannot afford another whitewash. If it truly has nothing to hide, then it must act like it: no gag orders, no political interference, and complete transparency — starting with an impartial probe monitored by the judiciary or CBI.
This is no longer just about Dharmasthala. It’s about a chilling rot in the system — sacred and secular — that enabled rape, murder, and cover-up for decades. It’s about women brutalized, minors buried, families silenced, and an entire society made to look away.
Is this just administrative failure? Or a deeper conspiracy to erode the cultural and moral spine of Karnataka’s majority Hindu community — the same community that witnessed barbarity under Tipu Sultan, whom Congress hails as a hero?
This government, already riddled with internal cracks, cannot pretend ignorance or helplessness. The people of Karnataka — and the conscience of India — demand answers. And justice.
A brutally honest reckoning is overdue. No more silence. No more sanctified impunity.
Justice — long denied — must now be delivered.
