Dharmasthala, formerly known as Kuduma, is a historic temple town located on the banks of the Nethravathi River in Belthangady taluk, Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka. It is renowned for the Dharmasthala Temple, dedicated to Lord Manjunatha (Shiva), along with shrines to deities like Ammanavaru, Chandranath, and Dharma Daivas such as Kalarahu and Kumaraswamy. Uniquely, the temple is managed by a Jain administration while Vaishnava Hindu priests conduct the rituals. This rare blend of Jain and Hindu traditions draws about 2,000 pilgrims daily, making it a prominent spiritual and cultural destination in southern India.
Over the past few weeks, the temple town and the temple administration have been rocked by allegations following explosive claims by a former sanitation worker. He alleges that, over a span of nearly two decades, he was coerced into burying the bodies of rape and murder victims on behalf of the temple administration. These sensational accusations have been aggressively promoted by left-leaning media outlets such as The News Minute, which have portrayed the claims, despite their anonymous and unverified nature, as evidence of a systemic cover-up.
Their journalists Pooja Prasanna, known for her Keeladi & Auroville propaganda videos, also entered the scene for the Dharmasthala issue.
The Allegations: A Summary
The whistleblower, a former sanitation worker, alleges:
- He was forced to bury hundreds of bodies (mostly women and minors) between 1998 and 2014.
- The bodies showed signs of sexual assault, strangulation, and acid burns.
- He fled Dharmasthala in 2014 after his niece was molested by someone linked to the temple.
- He returned in 2025, exhumed one skeleton, and filed an FIR seeking witness protection.
Media outlets, particularly The News Minute, have aggressively pushed this narrative, drawing parallels to the 2012 Sowjanya case (an unresolved rape-murder) and insinuating a systemic cover-up by the Dharmasthala temple administration.
However, no concrete evidence has been presented beyond the whistleblower’s testimony.
Al Jazeera’s Narrative
Jumping on this bandwagon to malign Dharmasthala’s name is Al Jazeera, the Qatar government funded propaganda outlet that is known for peddling anti-Hindu and anti-India narratives.
In their short video report, they make even worse allegations than TNM and other leftist media.
The video starts by framing the issue as “one of the worst serial killings in history.”
Then they shift to the “whistleblower” and identify him as “Dalit”, then they go on to say, “According to Hinduism’s caste system, the Dalits are at the bottom. They’re considered unpure and are often persecuted in India. As per tradition, temple administrators are from a higher caste.”
Critical Flaws In The Allegations
With so many allegations and exaggerated numbers floating around, there seems to be no evidence to prove any of those. However, several questions crop up in the mind owing to the following flaws in the allegations made.
#1 No Physical Evidence Or Independent Verification
The whistleblower claims to have buried hundreds of bodies, yet only one skeleton has been presented. No forensic reports, DNA tests, or autopsy records have corroborated his claims.
The locations of these alleged burials remain undisclosed, despite his offer to guide police.
Here’s what needs to be asked – If hundreds of bodies were buried over 16 years, why has no one else – locals, pilgrims, or workers – ever reported foul smells, suspicious activities, or mass graves?
#2 Contradictions In The Whistleblower’s Account
He claims he was forced to bury bodies secretly, yet Dharmasthala is a highly frequented pilgrimage site with thousands of visitors daily.
He alleges superiors threatened him, but no names have been disclosed, even in his FIR. He fled in 2014 but returned only in 2025 – why the 11-year delay?
Here’s what needs to be asked – If he was truly traumatized, why did he wait so long to speak up? Was he influenced by external forces?
#3 Panchayat Records Dispute The Claims
Dharmasthala Panchayat Vice President Shrinivas Rao stated that all unclaimed bodies are officially documented and disposed of lawfully.
Records of burials (including suicides near the Netravati River) have been maintained since the 1980s, with receipts and official approvals.
The panchayat denies any clandestine burials and challenges the whistleblower to provide proof.
Here’s what needs to be asked – If the panchayat has maintained records, why hasn’t the media scrutinized them instead of relying solely on unverified claims?
#4 The Sowjanya Case: A Separate Tragedy, Not Proof Of A Conspiracy
The 2012 rape and murder of Sowjanya, a 17-year-old student, was a horrific crime that remains unresolved. However, linking it to the current allegations is misleading. Santhosh Rao, the accused, was acquitted in 2023 due to lack of evidence.
The CBI and courts found no proof of involvement by temple officials. Sowjanya’s family’s grief is genuine, but activists are exploiting their pain to push unverified claims.
Here’s what needs to be asked – If the temple was involved in a cover-up, why did the CBI, CID, and Karnataka HC find no evidence in Sowjanya’s case? And if these were connected, why were there no protests at that time? As per the witness, the murder and burials were a decade before Sowjanya’s rape and murder occurred.
#5 Why Did Only One Whistleblower Come Forward After So Long?
The lone witness says he remained silent for over a decade, that is, throughout years of major protests about other tragedies in the same town, only coming forward now, after living “in hiding”. Why didn’t his conscience or fear for his life drive him to speak up during previous waves of scrutiny?
The whistleblower admits to having no identifiable information regarding the deceased – he claims he never knew their names, origins, or details, and cannot explain why no families except one (Ananya Bhatt) have stepped forward even after massive publicity
#6 Why Are There No Missing Persons Records Or Family Testimonies?
The magnitude of “hundreds” and “thousands” of rape, murder, and disappearances would, in any scenario, be expected to provoke multiple missing persons reports, press coverage, or at least numerous families demanding action. Since the claims surfaced, only one family (Ananya Bhatt’s mother) has registered a fresh case supporting the exhumation request. Is it credible that all other families have been silenced, lost, or uninterested?
Panchayat and police protocols mandate notices in newspapers, week-long waits for bodies to be claimed, and official registration of every natural or unnatural death in the area.
Al Jazeera claims “How did anyone not notice so many people were missing? Well, here’s the thing. They did. For years, people in the area have reported the sudden disappearance of girls and women. Families and activist groups say their complaints went nowhere as influential people, even the police, covered up the questions surrounding the town.”
Here’s what must be asked – Are there factual gaps in the audit trails? Where are the records of missing, untracked individuals to support these extraordinary claims?
Is Dharmasthala Being Targeted By Leftist Communal Forces?
Is this a coordinated attack on Dharmasthala’s religious and social influence? If the whistleblower’s claims are true, why has no one else, no grieving families, no co-workers, no local witnesses come forward in 20+ years?
Dharmasthala is located in Dakshin Kannada, a communally sensitive region with Islamist forces trying to gain foothold like they did in Malappuram region of Kerala. Over the past decades, Dakshin Kannada has seen several instances of communal violence and murders linked to religious or community-based issues. There have been cases of ISIS-recruitment in the region as well.
It is possible that Dharmasthala which has deep religious significance for Kannadigas and Hindus in general has been fighting the Islamist jihadi forces and preventing from converting the masses.
While there may be truth to the murders of Sowjanya, Ananya, and other young girls, tying it to the institution, the temple is not right. Investigation is necessary for each of the cases and the perpetrator must be brought to justice. But to malign an entire institution, an entire community just for the sake of the leftist agenda is so not done.
The News Minute’s Credibility Falters, Yet Again
The News Minute, in the past, has been at the forefront of all anti-Hindu/anti-India narratives – be it the Kalakshetra case, the manufactured Keezhadi issue or the more recent hit-job on Auroville peddled by the portal.
All three cases have been shining examples where they unnecessarily created controversy to set a narrative suitable to the leftists and the powers working behind the curtains. The Commune doggedly reported on the truth behind each issue and will continue to do so in the Dharmasthala case as well.
A Coordinated Assault On Dharmasthala?
What we are witnessing in the Dharmasthala controversy appears to be part of a larger, orchestrated information war driven by a nexus of left-leaning media houses, global anti-Hindu platforms, and ideological operatives. Outlets like The News Minute and Al Jazeera have consistently amplified unverified, sensational narratives against Hindu institutions – be it temples, spiritual communities, or cultural symbols, while conveniently ignoring the glaring lack of evidence or contradictory facts. These platforms operate with a clear agenda: to delegitimize Hindu religious spaces, undermine traditional faith systems, and erode public trust in centuries-old cultural institutions. The strategy is always the same—plant a salacious story based on dubious testimonies, repeat it across coordinated media nodes, invoke emotional triggers like caste, gender, and justice, and finally, frame it as a fight against systemic oppression. In doing so, they provide intellectual cover for radical elements that seek to fracture India’s social fabric – from jihadist recruitment hubs in sensitive regions like Dakshina Kannada to global actors interested in destabilizing India’s civilizational confidence. Dharmasthala isn’t just a temple under attack; it is a symbol being targeted in a coordinated ideological assault masquerading as journalism.
(With inputs from India Today)
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