Dharmasthala Mass Burial Probe Deepens: 26 Days, 15 Sites & Still No Body Found

Twenty-six days after the registration of an FIR alleging mass burials of unclaimed or unidentified bodies, the exhumation process continues in Dharmasthala enters its third day with more questions than answers. The complainant, a former sanitation worker, had earlier led the Special Investigation Team to 15 sites where he claimed to have buried bodies during his tenure. Fresh controversy erupts after a lawyer alleged the recovery of personal belongings at the first site, claims the SIT denies. With top officer Pronab Mohanty empanelled for Central deputation, uncertainty hangs over the probe’s future. Are these alleged mass burials real? And if bodies are eventually found how will DNA identification even be possible?