How an Indian temple town is at the centre of hundreds of alleged murders

New Delhi, India – After spending 3 decades racked with guilt, frightened connected sleepless nights, and often changing cities, a 48-year-old Dalit antheral appeared successful Karnataka with accusation astir 1 of the astir horrific alleged crimes successful India.

Emerging from hiding aft 12 years, the man, who erstwhile worked arsenic a sanitation idiosyncratic astatine the much-revered Dharmasthala temple, told constabulary connected July 3 that helium was coming guardant with “an highly dense bosom and to retrieve from an insurmountable consciousness of guilt”. As a court-protected witness, the man’s individuality cannot beryllium revealed nether the law.

“I tin nary longer carnivore the load of memories of the murders I witnessed, the continuous decease threats to hide the corpses I received,” helium said successful his statement, reviewed by Al Jazeera, “and the symptom of beatings – that if I did not hide those corpses, I would beryllium buried alongside them”.

Now, the whistleblower wants to assistance successful the exhumation of “hundreds of dormant bodies” helium buried betwixt 1995 and 2014 – galore of them women and girls, allegedly murdered aft intersexual assaults, but besides destitute men whose murders helium claims to person witnessed.

After days of sustained unit from activists and nationalist outcry, the Karnataka authorities – ruled by the absorption Congress enactment – has created a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the allegations of battle and murder.

So, what did the protected witnesser uncover successful his complaint? Does the temple municipality person a past of rape and murder? Are much victims coming guardant now?

Men service nutrient to pilgrims astatine the Dharmasthala temple [Luis Dafos/Getty Images]

‘Hundreds of bodies’: What’s successful the complaint?

Situated connected the scenic little slopes of the Western Ghats, Dharmasthala, an 800-year-old pilgrimage village, is located connected the banks of the Nethravathi River successful the Belthangady country of the Dakshina Kannada territory successful Karnataka state, wherever astir 2,000 devotees sojourn daily.

On July 11, the man, afloat draped successful achromatic covering with lone a transparent portion covering his eyes, appeared astatine a section tribunal successful Belthangady to grounds his statement.

The complainant, who belongs to the Dalit assemblage – the slightest privileged and often persecuted radical successful India’s analyzable caste hierarchy – joined the temple successful 1995 arsenic a sanitation worker.

At the opening of his employment, helium said successful the complaint, helium noticed dormant bodies appearing adjacent the river. “Many pistillate corpses were recovered without apparel oregon undergarments. Some corpses showed wide signs of intersexual battle and violence; injuries oregon strangulation marks indicating unit were disposable connected those bodies,” helium noted.

However, alternatively of reporting this to authorities astatine the time, the antheral said helium was forced to “dispose of these bodies” aft his supervisors bushed him up and threatened him, saying, “We volition chopped you into pieces; we volition sacrifice each your household members.”

The supervisors, helium claimed, would telephone him to circumstantial locations wherever determination were dormant bodies. “Many times, these bodies were of insignificant girls. The lack of undergarments, torn clothes, and injuries to their backstage parts indicated brutal intersexual battle connected them,” helium said. “Some bodies besides had acerb pain marks.”

The antheral has told the constabulary and the tribunal that helium is acceptable to acquisition immoderate tests, including brain-mapping and a polygraph, and is consenting to place the spots of wide burials. Some sites are apt to beryllium exhumed successful the coming days.

In the astir 20 years helium worked astatine the temple, the antheral said helium “buried dormant bodies successful respective locations passim the Dharmasthala area”.

Sometimes, arsenic instructed, helium burned dormant bodies utilizing diesel. “They would instruct maine to pain them wholly truthful that nary hint would beryllium found. The dormant bodies disposed of successful this mode numbered successful the hundreds,” helium said.

Why did helium spell into hiding?

By 2014, having worked determination for 20 years, helium said, “The intelligence torture I was experiencing had go unbearable.”

Then, a miss from his ain household was sexually harassed by a idiosyncratic connected to the supervisors astatine the temple, starring to a realisation that the household needed “to flight from determination immediately”. In December 2014, helium fled Dharmasthala with his household and informed nary 1 of his whereabouts.

Since then, the household has been surviving successful hiding successful a neighbouring state, and changing residences, helium said.

“However, I americium inactive surviving nether the load of guilt that does not subside,” helium said. “But my conscience nary longer allows maine to proceed this silence.”

To backmost his claims, the antheral precocious visited a burial tract and exhumed a skeleton; helium submitted the skeleton and its photograph during exhumation to the constabulary and the tribunal via his lawyers.

Today, the existent fig of dormant bodies is not what matters to the erstwhile sanitation worker, a idiosyncratic intimately associated with the lawsuit told Al Jazeera. They requested anonymity to speak.

“Even if it was conscionable 2 oregon 3 women, and not hundreds, their lives matter,” they said, reflecting connected wherefore the whistleblower came forward. “If determination is simply a accidental astatine justice, their bodies getting due rituals, we privation to instrumentality it.”

A pilgrim stands adjacent an elephant astatine the Dharmasthala temple [Luis Dafos/Getty Images]

Did helium place the victims?

No, helium did not place them by name. However, helium elaborate immoderate of the burials successful his connection to the police.

He recalled that successful 2010 helium was sent to a determination astir 500 metres (1,640ft) from a petrol pump successful Kalleri, astir 30 kilometres (19 miles) from Dharmasthala. There, helium recovered the assemblage of a teenage girl.

“Her property could beryllium estimated betwixt 12 to 15 years. She was wearing a schoolhouse azygous shirt. However, her skirt and undergarments were missing. Her assemblage showed wide signs of intersexual assault. There were strangulation marks connected her neck,” helium noted successful his statement. “They instructed maine to excavation a pit and hide her on with her schoolhouse bag. That country remains disturbing to this day.”

He elaborate different “disturbing incident” of burying a woman’s assemblage successful her 20s. “Her look had been burned with acid. That assemblage was covered with a newspaper. Instead of burying her body, the supervisors instructed maine to cod her footwear and each her belongings and pain them with her,” helium recalled.

Have akin crimes been linked to Dharmasthala successful the past?

Yes. There person been repeated protests implicit the years regarding the find of bodies of rape-and-murder victims successful and astir Dharmasthala, dating backmost to the 1980s.

These protests person been sporadic but persistent, often led by section groups, families and governmental organisations.

In 1987, marches were organised successful the municipality to protestation the rape and execution of 17-year-old Padmalata. The demonstrations exposed alleged cover-ups by influential figures but were reportedly quashed done intimidation and ineligible pressure.

The municipality saw protests flare again successful 2012 with the “Justice for Sowjanya” movement, aft different teen was raped and murdered. That lawsuit remains unsolved.

Over the decades, families and section governmental groups person held demonstrations and submitted memorandums to authorities, linking cases specified arsenic the 2003 disappearance of aesculapian pupil Ananya Bhat to larger allegations of wide graves and unnatural deaths.

S Balan, a elder lawyer successful the Karnataka High Court and a quality rights activist, told Al Jazeera that the killings and mysterious disappearances successful Dharmasthala day backmost to 1979.

“The souls of young girls are crying for justice; hundreds of girls who disappeared were abducted, were raped, and were killed,” Balan told Al Jazeera. “India has ne'er seen this gravity of offence successful its republic aft independence.”

Balan besides met the Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah past Wednesday with a delegation of lawyers, urging him to signifier the SIT to probe the alleged wide rapes and murders.

“The main curate was superior astir it. He told america that helium volition speech to the constabulary and bash [what’s needed],” said Balan.

How person the temple authorities reacted?

The medication of the Dharmasthala temple has agelong been controlled by the almighty Heggade family, with Veerendra Heggade serving arsenic the 21st Dharmadhikari, oregon hereditary head, since 1968.

Heggade, a recipient of the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian award, is simply a subordinate of the parliament’s precocious house. He was nominated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) successful 2022.

His household wields important power successful the region, overseeing a wide web of institutions.

In 2012, the household came nether nationalist scrutiny pursuing the rape and execution of 17-year-old Sowjanya, a nonmigratory of Dharmasthala. Her assemblage was discovered successful a wooded country bearing signs of intersexual battle and brutal violence. Sowjanya’s household has consistently alleged that the perpetrators had ties to the temple’s leadership.

In a connection shared connected Sunday, July 20, the temple authorities expressed enactment for a “fair and transparent” probe and expressed anticipation that the probe would uncover the truth.

K Parshwanath Jain, the authoritative spokesperson for Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala, said the whistleblower’s ailment has “triggered wide nationalist statement and disorder crossed the country”.

“In airy of nationalist request for accountability, we recognize that the authorities authorities has handed implicit the lawsuit to a Special Investigation Team,” helium said. “Truth and content signifier the instauration of a society’s morals and values. We sincerely anticipation and powerfully impulse the SIT to behaviour a thorough and impartial probe and bring the existent facts to light.”

Veerendra Heggade, caput of the Dharmasthala temple, stands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi successful New Delhi connected August 31, 2016 [Handout, Prime Minister’s office]

Have the families of missing radical travel forward?

Yes. Sujatha Bhat, the parent of Ananya Bhat, who disappeared successful 2003, has responded publically to the whistleblower’s shocking revelations astir alleged wide burials successful Dharmasthala.

The 60-year-old retired CBI stenographer said she has lived successful fearfulness for much than 2 decades but was motivated by media reports of the worker’s grounds and the find of skeletal remains. She filed a caller ailment with the constabulary past Tuesday.

Bhat said she believes her girl whitethorn person been among the galore women who faced maltreatment and met a convulsive end, lone to beryllium buried without a trace.

She recalled that she was discouraged from pursuing the lawsuit further. “They told america to halt asking questions,” she reportedly said, emphasising the clime of fearfulness and soundlessness that surrounded Dharmasthala for decades.

Speaking with reporters aft filing the complaint, Bhat appealed: “Please find my daughter’s skeletal remains and let maine to execute the ceremonial rites with honour.”

She said she wants to “give bid to Ananya’s soul, and fto maine walk my last days successful peace”.