Mangaluru: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Dharmasthala case has intensified its investigation even as the missing case of Ananya Bhat, filed by her mother Sujatha Bhat, has come into the spotlight.
Sujatha Bhat released the passport-size photograph of her daughter, Ananya Bhat, for the first time, following mounting questions about the girl’s identity and her disappearance. Until now, despite filing a complaint, Sujatha had not provided any photograph, raising doubts in public and among investigators.
According to the complaint, Ananya, a medical college student, had visited the Dharmasthala temple with her friends but never returned. Sujatha, who was then working as a stenographer with the CBI in Kolkata, alleged that when she tried to lodge a missing complaint, she was threatened and turned away.
She also claimed that when she raised the matter before the temple administration, she was assaulted by the staff, leaving her in a coma for three months.
The controversy deepened after a masked complainant alleged that hundreds of bodies were buried in Dharmasthala. Sujatha submitted that if her daughter’s remains were found among those exhumed and her DNA matched, the body should be handed over to her so that Hindu last rites could be performed.
