Dharmastala: A Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing allegations of secret burials in the Dharmasthala region of Dakshina Kannada in Karnataka recovered partial skeletal remains from a site identified by a former sanitation worker, officials said on Thursday. Forensic personnel and crime scene investigators present at the site documented the exact location and condition of each bone before sending them for forensic testing.

This is the first confirmed recovery since the SIT began digging on July 29 at 13 locations listed by the complainant, who alleged that bodies were buried without documentation over a period of nearly two decades.

Officials said that on July 31, digging at the sixth site led to the recovery of about 15 bones. “Some of the bones were broken. No skull was found at the site,” an SIT official said. “A forensic doctor who examined the remains at the location offered a preliminary opinion that they are likely human bones, possibly of a male. But a final conclusion will be drawn only after detailed laboratory analysis.”

The site, located in a wooded area near the Netravathi river, was the sixth of 13 marked by the complainant during an on-site visit with the SIT on July 28.

The 48-year-old man, who earlier worked as a sanitation worker, claimed to have witnessed or been aware of over 100 undocumented burials carried out between 1995 and 2014. He had approached the SIT with hand-drawn sketches and descriptions of the burial locations, most of which are in and around Dharmasthala.

Before the partial skeletal remains were found, five sites had been dug between July 28 and 30 without any discovery of human remains. “The terrain around the sixth site is challenging. Dense vegetation and proximity to the river have slowed the digging work,” the official added.

Forensic personnel and crime scene investigators present at the site documented the exact location and condition of each bone before sending them for forensic testing. Stella Verghese, assistant commissioner of Puttur sub-division, also visited the site during the exhumation.

Alongside the exhumation efforts, the SIT is also following up on material recovered during the earlier phases of digging. At the first site, officers found a PAN card and a debit card. Investigators traced the PAN card to a man named Suresh from Nelamangala in Bengaluru Rural district.

“Suresh died of jaundice in March this year. His father confirmed to us that his last rites were conducted at their native village. Our inquiry suggests that he may have visited Dharmasthala before his death and could have lost his documents there,” the SIT official said.

The RuPay debit card recovered from the same site belonged to the man’s mother. “She is alive and was physically verified during our investigation,” the official added, ruling out any link between the recovered documents and any unidentified body.

With the first tangible evidence now recovered, the SIT plans to continue excavations at the remaining seven sites in the days ahead. Officers say the process will remain cautious and methodical due to the sensitive nature of the case and difficult environmental conditions, including rainfall and underground water seepage.

“We are treating each site as a separate scene and are documenting everything carefully. It is still early to draw conclusions, but we are not ruling anything out,” the SIT officer said.

The SIT is headed by Pranav Mohanty, director general of police, internal security division, Bengaluru. Other members of the team included MN Anucheth, deputy inspector general of police, recruitment; Soumyalatha, deputy commissioner of police, CAR headquarters, Bengaluru city; and Jitendra Kumar Dayama, superintendent of police, internal security division, Bengaluru.

The government, in an order dated July 19, said it was forming the SIT following a recommendation from the Karnataka state commission for women. The panel’s appeal was based on a media report, dated July 12, which detailed a family’s complaint about their missing daughter and the court testimony of a sanitation worker who claimed to have buried multiple bodies in the temple town. According to the commission, the report and sworn statement “indicate that for over 20 years, serious acts of assault, murder, rape, unnatural deaths, and disappearances have occurred involving many women and female students”.

According to the government’s order, the SIT will investigate crime No. 39/2025 registered under section 211(A) of BNS at Dharmasthala police station. The SIT will function out of the Dakshina Kannada district police office. It has been directed to provide regular updates to the DGP and IGP.

The origins of the case traced back to a sanitation worker in Dharmasthala who filed a police complaint on July 3, claiming to have buried bodies of multiple women who were allegedly raped and murdered. His statement was recently recorded before a magistrate, and an FIR was filed.