‘It was a mistake,’ says Dharmasthala case complainant Sujatha Bhatt

Sujata Bhat, who had earlier filed a controversial complaint in the ongoing Dharmasthala mass burial case, has expressed regret over her actions and announced she will visit the temple to seek forgiveness.

Bhatt filed a complaint at the Belthangady police station claiming that her daughter, Ananya Bhatt, went missing in 2003, further intensifying the case.

However, she later admitted that Ananya was a fictional character created in connection with a property dispute.

‘Will bow before Dr Veerendra Hegde for my sins’

Speaking to reporters, Bhatt alleged her actions were “haunting her” and she wished to do “penance.”

“I will go to Dharmasthala to seek public forgiveness and bow before Lord Manjunatha and Shri Veerendra Heggade,” she said.

Bhatt further said she is not part of any “gang” and filing the complaint was a “mistake.”

“Please don’t associate me with the burude (skeleton) gang (gang claimed to be behind the alleged conspiracy). I have no connection with them. My matter is completely different. A man named Shivashankar deceived me in a property dispute, he was the one who created the Ananya Bhatt identity. He is no longer alive, and I have moved on from that issue. Nothing in life is permanent, and I don’t wish to discuss it any further. I am not part of any gang,” Udayavani quoted her as saying.

“I am old now, with neither strength nor support. I made a mistake by filing that complaint, it has brought me nothing but pain. I have lived a clean life all these years, yet I am consumed by guilt. I will go to Dharmasthala to seek forgiveness. Lord Manjunatha and Annappa Swamy will guide me to the right path,” she said.

Statewide protest against illegal activities in Dharmasthala

The Dharmasthala Dourjanya Virodhi Vedike will hold statewide protests across 60 locations on Thursday, October 9. The demonstration titled ‘Nyayakkagi Janagraha 2025’ has been organised against various alleged illegal activities in the temple, reported Vartha Bharathi

Protests will be held in Bengaluru, Mandya, Vijayanagara, Kodagu, Tumakuru, Kolar, Kalaburagi, Bidar, Mysuru, Haveri, Ballari, Raichur, Hassan and Dakshina Kannada district.

Dharmasthala case

The Dharmasthala mass burial case in Karnataka came to light when a whistleblower, a former sanitation worker from the Dalit community, alleged that over 100 bodies, including young women and girls, had been buried in secret graves between 1995 and 2014. He identified 13 sites along the Netravathi River for exhumation.

Following the allegations, the state government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT). The team did recover partial skeletons and bone fragments at several sites.

However, the SIT stated there were inconsistencies in the whistleblower’s claims which resulted in his subsequent arrest.

The case has ignited widespread public outrage, with activists, women’s organisations, and political leaders demanding a transparent and impartial investigation.