Mangaluru: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Dharmasthala mass burial case was on Monday taken by the complainant-witness to sites near the Netravathi bathing ghat, where the bodies are reportedly buried.
The witness, who is also the complainant in the case, was escorted to the location under tight police security. With his face covered, he led SIT officials, including Jithendra Kumar Dayama, Simon C, 2 kilometers into the forest area along the banks of the Netravathi River.
The witness identified 13 spots in the area where bodies are believed to have been buried. SIT officials geo-tagged each spot using GPS and marked it with barrier tape. Each spot was also assigned an identification number and a drone was used to record video footage of each location.
All 13 locations identified by the witness lie within a one-kilometer radius of the Dharmasthala police station. Eight sites are along the Netravathi River, four are beside the road connecting the Netravathi bridge to the bathing ghat, and one is in an open area near a small dam adjacent to the ghat.
A police officer noted that some sites may contain more than one body. The exact number will only be confirmed after exhumation. The operation to identify more suspected burial sites is expected to continue on Tuesday.
