BENGALURU: Commenting on the arrest of the unidentified complainant, also referred to as the "masked man", in connection with the alleged Dharmasthala mass grave case, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar stated on Saturday that the state government will take action against whoever is guilty.
He was speaking to the media on Saturday near his residence in Bengaluru.
“We are neither on their (Dharmasthala’s) side nor on this side. We are on the side of justice. All we are saying is, don’t do politics in matters of religion, ” said Dy CM D.K. Shivakumar.
When asked about the Dharmasthala case where the complainant witness was arrested and the ‘conspiracy’ angle that he was the first to highlight, he said, “BJP leaders had not spoken about it till then. They were speaking vaguely, not making their stand clear. Only after I raised the issue of ‘conspiracy’ did they start speaking.”
“The family members of the management of Dharmasthala temple themselves came and spoke to the Chief Minister and said that forming the Special Investigation Team (SIT) was a good step, " Dy CM Shivakumar stated.
"The investigation is going on. Whoever is guilty, our government will take action against them — the Chief Minister and the Home Minister have both stated this in the Assembly and also in the CLP meeting, ” he underlined.
When asked about Sujatha Bhat’s statement that Ananya Bhatt is not her daughter, he said, “The Home Minister will look into it.”
It can be recalled that Sujatha Bhat had lodged a complaint with the SIT that her daughter Ananya Bhat, a medical student, had gone missing in Dharmasthala.
Home Minister G. Parameshwara, confirming the arrest of the unidentified complainant, stated that he has been taken into police custody. The details of the arrest will be provided by the SIT.