SIT questions Chinnaiah's wife, sister in Dharmasthala mass burial case

Mangaluru (Karnataka), Oct 13 (PTI) The Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Monday questioned the wife of witness-complainant Chinnaiah and his sister in connection with the Dharmasthala mass burial case.

Chinnaiah's wife Mallika and his sister Ratna appeared before investigators at the SIT office in Belthangady.

Officials reportedly sought details about Chinnaiah's financial dealings and his interactions with key persons linked to the case.

According to sources, SIT is also probing claims by activists from the Sowjanya Movement that Mallika accompanied her husband during a visit to activist Mahesh Shetty Thimarody’s residence.

According to SIT officials, Thimarody had sheltered Chinnaiah in his house for two months.

Investigators are said to be cross-verifying discrepancies between Chinnaiah's earlier statements made in the presence of Thimarody—some of which were captured in video recordings—and testimonies presented before the court.

The interrogation is part of a wider effort to trace inconsistencies and determine possible influences or coercion in witness statements related to the long-contested Dharmasthala case.

A controversy erupted after Chinnaiah, who has been arrested on charges of perjury, claimed burying a number of bodies, including those of women with signs of sexual assault, in Dharmasthala over a period of time. PTI COR GMS GMS KH