The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has decided to take up the Dharmasthala mass burial case after receiving crucial documents from the police. The investigation will largely focus on two NGOs, Odanadi and Samvada, which are under suspicion for alleged violations of foreign funding laws. Banks have been directed to provide complete account details and financial transactions linked to these organisations for further scrutiny.
According to top sources, the ED has registered a case under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) following two complaints associated with the case. The agency will now investigate whether the NGOs received foreign contributions unlawfully and if those funds were misused in campaigns or activities tied to the controversy surrounding Dharmasthala.
As part of the inquiry, the ED has sought information from the State Bank of India (SBI) and several other banks. They have been asked to submit Permanent Account Number (PAN) details, complete account information, and five years’ worth of transaction history for both NGOs to trace any irregularities in funding patterns.
Meanwhile, the political battle around the issue has intensified. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) organised a “Dharmasthala Chalo” rally to denounce what it described as a conspiracy and defamation campaign against the temple town. The party also demanded a National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe and accused the Congress government of mishandling the matter.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, however, dismissed these allegations, stating that he was unaware of any foreign funding angle as claimed by the BJP. He argued that investigations should reveal the truth and countered the opposition by questioning the sources of the BJP’s own funds. Siddaramaiah further said that while opposition criticism is acceptable, politicising every issue without evidence was misleading and purely for political gain.
The controversy first came to light after CN Chinnayya, a former sanitation worker later arrested for perjury, alleged that several bodies, including those of women showing signs of sexual assault, had been buried in Dharmasthala over the last two decades.
Following these claims, the state government formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT), which carried out excavations at multiple sites along the Netravathi River. Skeletal remains were recovered from two different locations, adding more weight to the ongoing investigation and fueling further political and public debates around the sensitive case.
