The complainant and key witness, who had earlier alleged that he was forced to bury several bodies in Dharmasthala, was remanded to 14 days of judicial custody on Saturday, September 6, by the Belthangady court.
His custody under the Special Investigation Team (SIT) ended the same day, following which he was produced before the court. He is ordered to be lodged in Shivamogga jail.
The witness was first arrested by the SIT on August 23 and remanded to custody till September 3. The period was later extended to September 6.
He was arrested for allegedly misleading the investigation by producing a skull that he had not exhumed, but claimed before a magistrate as evidence.
Meanwhile, the SIT has summoned Girish Mattannavar, social worker Jayan, and Sowjanya’s uncle Vittal Gowda for questioning.
The complainant’s claims—that he was forced to bury bodies of women and children who appeared to have been sexually assaulted—had prompted the SIT probe in July. Excavation work since then has led to the recovery of a skeleton and a few human bones at two locations. These findings are being investigated and soil samples from identified spots have been sent for chemical and forensic testing to verify if more remains are present in the area.
Authorities are also awaiting forensic and DNA analysis reports of soil samples collected from 17 excavation sites.