Dharmasthala case: SIT arrests complainant for 'misleading' authorities

MANGALURU: In a major development, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) has arrested the unidentified complainant, also referred to as the "mask man", in connection with the Dharmasthala case, sources confirmed on Saturday.

However, an official statement from the SIT regarding the arrest is yet to be released.

The sources stated that the complainant was arrested on charges of providing false information related to the Dharmasthala case.

SIT officials, who interrogated him for more than 15 hours since Friday, concluded that he had been misleading the authorities.

According to sources, the complainant has been identified as C. S. Chinnaiah, also known as Chenna.

He is expected to be produced before the Belthangady court soon, and authorities are likely to seek his police custody for further investigation.

SIT Chief DGP Pronab Mohanty also questioned the complainant.

The sources revealed that he confessed to being lured by certain individuals to make allegations and press for a specific course of investigation.

Following the serious claims made by the complainant, authorities had carried out excavations at 17 different locations in the temple town of Dharmasthala.

On July 11, the complainant claimed that he had been forced to bury the bodies of women and girls who were raped and murdered in Dharmasthala, and recorded his statement.