Dharmasthala case: No human remains found on Day 4 | Mangaluru News
Mangaluru: The special investigation team (SIT) probing the alleged mass burials near Dharmasthala continued with its exhumation work for the fourth consecutive day on Friday. Despite digging at two more spots identified by the complainant-witness, no human remains were found.This brings the total number of sites searched so far to eight, including site No. 7 and 8 on Friday. Partial skeletal remains were from at site No 6 on Thursday, after SIT mapped 13 locations on Monday for exhumation work. Friday’s digging operation was carried out in the presence of Puttur sub-division assistant commissioner Stella Verghese. The SIT has been conducting search operations based on allegations by the complainant-witness, a former sanitation worker, who claimed he was coerced into burying hundreds of bodies of women and minors in the village. While the SIT began the digging operation at the seventh site on Friday, near the Nethravathi River bating ghat, those involved in the work, including the police personnel, were not allowed to use mobile phones. Only senior SIT officials and the assistant commissioner were allowed access to their mobile phones. A mini earthmover, in addition to about 20 personnel with pickaxes and spades, dug up the seventh and eighth sites on Friday. Search operation will continue at site No. 9 on Saturday. The partial skeletal remains and other samples, including soil recovered during exhumation at site No. 6, will be examined thoroughly by forensic experts, SIT sources said.
