Mass Burials, Rape, Paedophilia at Karnataka’s Dharmasthala Temple: Whistle-Blower

Testimony Hints at Decades of Impunity Behind Revered Temple Walls

July 19, 2025

A former sanitation worker has testified in court that for nearly two decades he was forced by men linked to the Dharmasthala temple administration to bury the bodies of women and girls killed after being sexually assaulted within the temple premises in Karnataka. His claims, allegedly backed by skeletal remains and burial site details, point to a long period of institutional silence and inaction on disappearances reported in the region over the last thirty years.

The witness worked at the Dharmasthala temple from 1995 to 2014. In a statement recorded before a Belthangady magistrate on 15 July, he said he was regularly ordered to dispose of bodies, mostly women, behind the temple or along the Netravathi river, according to media report. He appeared in court with his face and body covered and said he acted under threat of death.

Some of the victims, he told media, were in school uniforms. Others had been disfigured in acid attacks. He added that many of the bodies were burned in the open with kerosene or buried without any record.

To support his statement, the man provided remains from one of the burial sites. He identified locations where he had buried or seen others bury bodies. His statement was recorded under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. A first information report was registered on July 4 under Section 211(a) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, following advocacy by lawyers representing the man.

No arrests have been made so far. There has been no exhumation or official forensic survey of the burial sites he mentioned.

The Dharmasthala temple, located in Dakshina Kannada district, is one of the most prominent and widely visited religious sites in South India, drawing millions of devotees every year. The presiding deity is Lord Manjunatha, a form of Shiva, alongside shrines for Ammanavaru (Parvati), Jain Tirthankara Chandraprabha, and regional guardian spirits called Dharma Daivas, The temple is unique in that it is administered by a Jain family, the Heggade lineage, while rituals are performed by Hindu Brahmin priests. This blend of Jain administration and Shaivite worship has earned the temple a reputation for religious inclusivity.

The current dharmadhikari (spiritual and administrative head since 1968), Veerendra Heggade, holds immense influence in the region, not only religiously but also socially and politically. He has been honoured with a Padma Vibhushan and was nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2022. The temple runs extensive charitable programmes, including free mass meals, education institutions and rural development schemes.

The Karnataka State Commission for Women has called for a Special Investigation Team, according to The Times of India. It said the matter cannot be handled by the local police and that the scale of disappearances and the seriousness of the allegations require an independent and thorough probe. The commission chairperson has said that reports of more than 360 missing people from the region over the last three decades raise questions about past investigations and institutional response.

One of the families affected has already filed a fresh complaint. The mother of an MBBS student who disappeared from Dharmasthala in 2003 has asked the police to reopen her daughter’s case. Lawyers expect more families to come forward in the coming weeks.

Court records and police registers show that a large number of missing persons’ cases from the region remain unresolved.

However, the Karnataka government has not yet set up an independent team. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has said the state is waiting for the police to complete a preliminary inquiry. Home Minister Parameshwara gave a similar response and said the legal process must be followed.

The whistle-blower and his legal team have requested witness protection. They say portions of his confidential court statement were leaked to local media and that he now faces threats.

Six days after the FIR, there has been no move to secure the burial sites or protect the man who made the claims, according to media reports. His lawyers say the inaction could result in the loss of evidence. They have filed a formal request for a protective order and are considering approaching the High Court.

The man’s testimony has raised concern among activists, lawyers and citizens who have followed the Sowjanya case from 2012, in which a schoolgirl was found murdered near Dharmasthala. They point to patterns that have emerged over the years – missing girls, cases closed without investigation and public silence.

Many of the families who lost daughters were never given answers. In some cases, they were not even allowed to register complaints.

The issue reveals something obvious, though often unrecognised, that when powerful institutions – religious, social, political or cultural – are left unchecked for long periods, they can begin to operate without any fear of accountability. Influence, silence and fear can combine to prevent even the most serious crimes from being prevented, investigated or acknowledged.

Another problem is that incidents linked to faith and tradition are often treated as a separate category, as if they do not fall under the reach of ordinary law. Religious institutions, like any other centres of authority, must be open to scrutiny. The fact that someone had to carry out orders in secrecy for years, and then risk his life to speak in court, shows how difficult it becomes to speak out when power is treated as sacred.

The whistle-blower’s actions over the years raise difficult questions. He knew he was helping conceal horrific crimes, yet he continued, night after night. His testimony suggests a man trapped by fear, poverty and perhaps the belief that no one would protect him if he resisted. To take orders from powerful men, in a setting where even filing a police complaint was difficult, may have seemed safer than opposing them. His silence was survival. That he has now chosen to speak, in court and in public, suggests a long struggle with guilt, fear and the need for justice that finally overcame the instinct to protect himself.

Imagine this. If the whistle-blower’s claim is true, hundreds of families must have approached the local police about missing daughters, sisters or wives. Yet no station in charge was ever able, or willing, to uncover what was going on. It is difficult to believe that the local police remained unaware, if such crimes were truly taking place over so many years. Had the police or other authorities paid attention to these families earlier, many lives may have been saved.

If this case is not investigated properly now, more lives may still be lost—not only in Dharmasthala, but in other places where silence and impunity may take strength from the precedent of inaction.

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