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Bengaluru: Activists alleging mass killings against the temple management at Dharmasthal approached the Karnataka High Court on Thursday praying to quash the police notice issued to them and also quash the FIR by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) registered on their complaint.
Activists Girish Mattennavar, Mahesh Shetty Thimarodi, T. Jayanth and Vittala Gowda have joined hands with senior cousin S. Writ petition has been filed before the court through Balan. The State of Karnataka, Director General and Inspector General of Police and the Chief Investigating Officer of the SIT in the Dharmasthala case have been named as respondents.
The writ petition has been submitted under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution and Section 528 of the BNS Act.
The petition states that the petitioners are aggrieved by the police notice dated October 24 issued under Section 35(3) of BNSS, received through WhatsApp, directing them to appear before the third respondent-SIT, Belthangady on October 27 in crime number 39/2025 registered at Dharmasthala Police Station for offenses under Sections 211(A), 336, 230, 231. 229, 227, 228, 240, 236, 233 and 248 of BNS, 2023 are pending before Addl. Civil Judge & JMFC, Belthangady.
The petition said that the notice also imposed certain conditions including not interfering with the witnesses and full cooperation in the investigation, failing which there would be threat of arrest.
It is submitted that, the petitioners have been receiving notices and have been interrogated for more than 100 hours and on each day of their appearance, they were made to sit in the office of the third respondent between 10 am and midnight.
The petitioners submitted that, they are social workers demanding justice for the helpless and powerless, vulnerable and marginalized victims and they have been part of the protests for a period of 3 decades to get justice to Sowjanya, Padmalatha, Vedavalli, which is not only their fundamental duty but also a fundamental right guaranteed under Articles 19(1)(a) and 21 of the Constitution of India, which is not said to be in violation of any law of the country. Can go. They further submit that, they are in the public domain as justice seekers.
The petitioners said that they humbly pray that the court may please stay the notice under Section 35(3) of the BNS 2023 issued on October 24 by the Chief Investigating Officer, Special Investigation Team, Dharmasthala Affairs. They have also sought quashing of the FIR registered in Crime No. 39/2025 and quashing of the offenses included under Sections 211 (A), 336, 230, 231, 228, 240, 236, 233, 248 of the BNS Act.
It may be recalled that in a major development on July 11, the unidentified complainant – who claimed that she was forced to bury the bodies of women and girls who were victims of rape and murder at the shrine – appeared before a court in Mangaluru district and recorded her statement.
He requested that the bodies be exhumed in his presence and alleged that the victims bore clear marks of sexual assault. According to him, the bodies were found without clothes or undergarments and had injuries consistent with violent sexual abuse.
These revelations shocked the whole of Karnataka and made national headlines.
–IANS