CS Chinnaiah alias Chinna, the whistleblower in the ongoing Dharmasthala case, was granted bail by a Mangaluru court on Monday, November 24.
The bail was granted on 12 conditions, including a bond of Rs 1 lakh, reported Vartha Bharti
Chinna had been lodged in the Shivamogga jail for the past three months.
The development comes after the Special Investigation Team (SIT) is likely to file the charge sheet before the Belthangady court.
On August 23, Chinna was arrested for “creating false evidence and perjury.” The former sanitation worker, who is a Dalit, had appeared before SIT chief Pranab Mohanty and recorded his statement.
The Dharmasthala mass burial case in Karnataka came to light on July 3 when Chinna alleged that he was forced to bury over 100 bodies, including young women and girls, who appeared to have been sexually assaulted, in secret graves between 1995 and 2014. He identified 13 sites along the Netravathi River for exhumation.
His allegations prompted the SIT to launch an investigation. Excavations by the team have so far uncovered a skeleton and a few human bones at two locations.
The temple has been under the care of Rajya Sabha MP and Padma Bhushan awardee Veerendra Heggade since 1968.
The case gained significance given the sanctity of the temple, one of the most revered in the state. It ignited widespread public outrage, with activists, women’s organisations, and political leaders demanding a transparent and impartial investigation.
One of the complainants, Sujatha Bhat, who had earlier filed a controversial complaint claiming her daughter, Ananya Bhatt, went missing in 2003, backtracked and expressed regret over her actions.
Speaking to the media, she admitted that Ananya was a fictional character created in connection with a property dispute.
“I will go to Dharmasthala to seek public forgiveness and bow before Lord Manjunatha and Shri Veerendra Heggade,” she had said.
