Dharmasthala row: Sujatha Bhat's fabricated tale of missing daughter unravels amid arrests and confessions

New Delhi: In a saga that has gripped Karnataka for months, the allegations surrounding the disappearance of Ananya Bhat in Dharmasthala have collapsed under the weight of contradictions, retractions, and official investigations.

What began as a heart-wrenching narrative of a mother's loss and a potential cover-up by powerful figures has now been exposed as a web of falsehoods, with Sujatha Bhat herself admitting to fabricating key elements of the story. 

Critics and devotees alike are demanding accountability for what appears to be a calculated campaign to tarnish the reputation of the revered Dharmasthala temple, a sacred site dedicated to Lord Shiva and a cornerstone of Hindu pilgrimage in the region.

The controversy first erupted when Sujatha Bhat, a Bengaluru resident, claimed that her daughter, Ananya Bhat, vanished during a visit to Dharmasthala in 2003. According to her initial account, Ananya was an 18-year-old MBBS student at Kasturba Medical College in Manipal, who disappeared while her friends were shopping near the temple premises. 

Sujatha alleged that when she attempted to investigate, she was abducted, tied to a chair, assaulted, and left in a coma at a Bengaluru hospital for three months. She further accused the Dharmadhikari family, custodians of the temple, of suppressing the case and insulting her over the years. 

These claims gained traction amid broader allegations of suspicious deaths and mass burials in the area, fueled by a former sanitation worker named Bhima (also referred to as Chennayya in some reports), who asserted he had buried over 100 bodies, including those of women and minors showing signs of sexual assault, between 1995 and 2014.

However, a meticulous probe by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the Karnataka government has systematically dismantled these assertions. Official records from Kasturba Medical College confirm that no student named Ananya Bhat was ever enrolled in their MBBS program in 2003 or any subsequent year. 

Family members, longtime acquaintances, and even local media archives from Sujatha's past paint a contradictory picture: between 1999 and 2007, she lived in Ripponpet, Shivamogga, with her partner Prabhakar Baliga, where they were profiled in regional magazines as "childless animal lovers." 

No birth certificates, school records, admission forms, or even family photographs substantiate the existence of Ananya Bhat.The SIT's forensic examination of evidence presented by Bhima further undermined the narrative. Bhima produced a skull as proof of buried female remains, but analysis revealed it belonged to a male, not a female, rendering his testimony unreliable. 

In a significant development, the SIT arrested Bhima on charges of perjury and presenting fake evidence, sending him to police custody. 

This arrest highlights the fabricated nature of the mass burial claims, which Bhima alleged occurred along the Nethravati River and involved temple authorities ordering undocumented disposals.Sujatha's own story has been riddled with inconsistencies from the outset. She claimed to have worked as a stenographer for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Kolkata, but the agency has no record of her employment. 

Hospitals in Bengaluru and surrounding areas reported no admissions matching her description of a three-month coma following an abduction. 

Her accusations against the Dharmadhikari family have shifted over time, with varying details about locations and events, leading skeptics to question whether these stem from genuine grievances or a personal vendetta tied to a long-standing property dispute. 

Sujatha has referenced her grandfather's ancestral land allegedly taken by temple authorities without her consent, suggesting this may have been the underlying motive for her allegations. 

In a stunning series of confessions captured on video and broadcast across media outlets, Sujatha Bhat retracted her claims on August 22, 2025. Speaking to YouTube channel InsightRush, she admitted, "It is not true. There was never any daughter named Ananya Bhat," and revealed that the photograph she had circulated as evidence was "completely fake." 

She alleged that activists Girish Mattannavar and T. Jayanti pressured her to fabricate the story to draw attention to the property issue, insisting no money was involved but that she was coerced into amplifying the narrative. 

Sujatha issued a public apology to the people of Karnataka and devotees of Dharmasthala, stating, "I ask the people of this state, and the whole country, to forgive me…I never needed money." 

Yet, in a bewildering U-turn just hours later, Sujatha appeared on Republic Kannada and claimed that Ananya was not her biological daughter but the child of her friends, Aravind and Vimala Bhat, whom she met in Mangalore in 1985. 

She accused the news channel of coercing her into the earlier confession, claiming it was recorded under duress inside a car. 

This flip-flop has only deepened suspicions of external manipulation. Her lawyer has noted that the only "evidence" provided was a passport-sized photo, which investigations revealed was of a Kodagu woman named Vasanthi who died in 2007, further exposing the deception. 

The SIT has expanded its probe, issuing notices to Sujatha to appear with any documents related to Ananya and extending investigations to Shivamogga, Bengaluru, and Udupi. 

Sources indicate links to a broader network, including political elements and social media influencers, who amplified the false narrative to target the temple and Hindu faith. 

BJP leaders, including MLA Janardhana Reddy, have accused Congress figures of orchestrating propaganda against Dharmasthala. 

Devotees and locals are urging swift action against those spreading misinformation, with calls for an NIA probe to uncover any deeper conspiracy. 

As the dust settles, what was portrayed as a mother's desperate quest for justice now stands revealed as a manufactured falsehood, eroding public trust and highlighting the dangers of unchecked allegations. The Karnataka Police and SIT continue their efforts to hold the perpetrators accountable, ensuring that the sanctity of Dharmasthala, a site of harmony where Hindu and Jain traditions coexist, remains untarnished.