Mangaluru: The additional civil judge and JMFC, Belthangady, on Tuesday rejected the bail application of the complainant in the alleged Dharmasthala mass burial case. Assistant public prosecutor Divyaraj Hegde confirmed the rejection. He said, “The argument was on the basis that this is a serious case. If proved guilty, he could face life imprisonment. There is also the possibility of evidence being destroyed, and since the investigation is still under way, granting bail at this stage is not appropriate.”The accused is currently lodged in Shivamogga jail. It may be recalled that the complainant, who alleged mass burials, was arrested by the govt-constituted Special Investigating Team on Aug 23, following which he was remanded in SIT custody. On Sept 6, he was produced before a court, which remanded him in judicial custody.Writ petitionPurandara Gowda and Tukaram Gowda from Dharmasthala have approached the high court with a writ petition seeking direction to the SIT to take immediate, time-bound action to conduct site inspections and excavations at the locations identified by the petitioners in their presence. As an alternative, they have urged the court to appoint a court commissioner, such as registrar (judicial) or a retired district judge, to accompany the petitioners to the sites they wish to identify and to submit a factual report on the visible state of affairs to the high court for further orders. They also urged the court to direct the SIT to submit periodic status reports to the court on the progress made in investigating all leads related to the alleged clandestine burials, to ensure its mandate of comprehensive investigation is fulfilled.Seers visit DharmasthalaShri Vidyadheesha Thirtha Swami and Vidyarajeshawara Thirtha Swami of Shri Palimaru Mutt on Tuesday met Dharmadhikari D Veerendra Heggade. The seers, after having darshan of the deity, were received by the Heggade family at their residence, and the ‘Pada Puja’ ritual was conducted. Subrahmanya Mutt seer Vidyaprasanna Thirtha Swami also arrived at Dharmasthala and met Dharmadhikari D Veerendra Heggade and his family.
