The investigation into the alleged mass burials in Dharmasthala has entered the forensic phase, with Karnataka’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) comparing DNA extracted from skeletal remains recovered in a reserve forest with blood samples collected from relatives of 17 people reported missing, according to officers familiar with the investigation.
The operation follows the recovery of seven human skulls and other skeletal remains during searches in the Pangligud Reserve Forest in 2025. Officers associated with the investigation said blood samples from relatives of eight missing people were already being compared with DNA extracted from the recovered remains. The Special Investigation Team has also begun the process of obtaining samples from the families of nine other missing persons, which will be subjected to the same analysis once collected.
Investigators believe testing could determine if any of the remains belong to individuals who have been reported missing over the past few years.
The remains were recovered from an area under investigation after Chennaiah, a former sanitation worker, presented a human skull in court and claimed he had buried the bodies of several rape and murder victims there. After recovery, police registered unnatural death reports at Dharmasthala police station before shifting the remains to the Forensic Science Laboratory in Bengaluru for scientific examination.
According to informed officers, preliminary forensic findings indicate that all the skeletal remains recovered belong to male individuals.
Chinnaya emerged as the central figure in the investigation after he claimed he was forced to bury the bodies of women and girls over several years in and around the temple town. His allegations prompted the Karnataka government to form a special investigation team to examine the allegations.
He has since filed a writ petition in the Karnataka High Court alleging that he was dragged into a $Rs 200 crore conspiracy to defame Dharmasthala and Dharmadhikari, D. Veerendra Heggade. The petition names several individuals, including activist Girish Matanvar and actor Prakash Raj, and seeks directions to the Special Investigation Team to complete its probe into the alleged conspiracy and initiate action against the aforementioned.
Besides forensic examination, investigators have expanded their search for possible identities by collecting records of missing persons from the Karnataka State Crime Records Bureau, District Crime Records Bureau and police stations across the state, as well as neighboring Kerala, Telangana and other states. Officers familiar with the investigation said investigators particularly focused on people reported missing in Dharmasthala. Several families also approached the Special Investigation Team claiming that their relatives had disappeared while in the temple city.
According to officers familiar with the investigation, personal documents found during the searches provided potential leads linking two missing persons to the location.
One of them is believed to be 70-year-old, U P Ayyappa, from T Chittigiri village in Punampet taluk in Kodagu district, who reportedly went missing about seven years ago. Investigators found an identification card bearing his name near the skeletal remains.
The second possible identification is Adishisha Narayana from Gobi in Tumakuru district, who was reported missing in 2013. Officers said his driving license was found during searches in the Pangligud reserve forest.
Investigators cautioned that the identity of neither has been confirmed and that a DNA comparison process will determine whether any of the recovered remains belong to missing persons whose families have provided, or will provide, blood samples for forensic analysis.
