Major twist in Dharmasthala controversy: Complainant arrested, claims found to be false
Bengaluru: The controversy over the alleged gangrape and murders in Dharmasthala village in Karnataka has now taken a completely different turn. The first complainant to raise his voice in the entire case, CN Chinnayya alias Chenna, has been arrested by the police. He is accused of lying under oath, and his statements were found to be fabricated during the investigation.
Chenna, whose name was not made public initially and was being called a “masked man”, had claimed that he was a witness to the alleged crime and needed witness protection. But the Special Investigation Team (SIT) found that his statements were baseless after investigating deeply. The SIT then withdrew his security and took him into custody on charges of giving false testimony.
In the morning, when Chenna was taken for a medical examination and then produced in court, pictures of his arrest emerged.
Woman’s statement changed, truth of missing daughter revealed
This entire controversy took an even more dramatic turn when a woman, Sujata Bhatt, also made a shocking revelation, retracting her old claims. She had earlier said that her daughter, Ananya Bhatt (MBBS student), had mysteriously disappeared. But later in a conversation with a YouTube channel, she admitted that there was never a daughter named Ananya.
However, now Sujata Bhatt has taken a new turn and said that she was forced to give such a statement.
How did the case start?
The controversy started when Chenna reached the police station in July with a skull and made a sensational claim that he had helped bury hundreds of bodies near the shrine. He also said that many of these bodies belonged to young women who were sexually abused.
Chenna said that he wanted to reveal the truth due to guilt and was ready to reveal the secret of the burial sites after getting protection by becoming a police witness. Based on these claims, the police registered an FIR and started an investigation, and the matter became a big issue at the political and social levels.
The political temperature rose.
This controversy also heated the politics of the state.
The BJP accused the Congress of trying to defame a holy place like Dharmasthala, and the government failed to stop this entire “drama”. BJP MLA Bharat Shetty said that Chenna and Sujatha Bhatt were just pawns, while the real game was being operated from somewhere else. He alleged that there was “large-scale funding” behind propagating such claims.
The Congress hit back and termed the BJP as “obstructionists”. Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said that initially, the BJP had not raised any objection and everyone had welcomed the SIT investigation. He clearly said – “We are neither in favour of anyone nor against anyone. If someone has done wrong, action will definitely be taken. It is not right to link religion with politics.
Current situation
Now that Chenna has been arrested and Sujatha Bhatt has also backtracked from her claims, the whole case is under suspicion. The BJP is using this incident as a weapon against the government, while the Congress government is constantly repeating that the investigation is going on impartially and no wrongdoer will be spared.
The religious place dispute is no longer just an issue of criminal investigation, but it has become an episode where religious faith, politics, and law – all three are entangled.
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