BENGALURU: With the special investigation team set to conclude exhumation of alleged burial sites in Dharmasthala, a 200-member BJP team led by state president BY Vijayendra will visit the shrine of Lord Manjunatheshwara Sunday “as devotees and offer prayers to the deity”.Sources claimed BJP workers will travel from Bengaluru to Dharmasthala in about 200 cars in a show of solidarity with the temple administration amid alleged propaganda aimed at defaming the pilgrim centre. The fortnight-long SIT operation hasn’t yielded significant leads yet on the allegations of a former sanitation worker that he was forced to bury about 300 victims of sexual violence and harassment in the past 25 years.“We’re visiting Dharmasthala as devotees of Lord Manjunatha and Annappa Swamy and not as party workers,” Vijayendra said.No breakthrough at site No human remains were found as SIT continued with its search at site no. 13 for the second consecutive day Wednesday. According to sources, an area measuring about 32 feet in length and 28 feet in width was excavated up to a depth of about 16 feet.Meanwhile, two individuals, including the uncle of Sowjanya, who was allegedly raped and murdered in 2012, approached the SIT to get their statements recorded.One of them, Purandara Gowda, claimed he had seen bodies being buried near site nos. 1 and 13 between 2003 and 2017.
