Day 9 | SIT Moves Into Forest Near Snanaghatta, TNM goes to court

Name: Day 9 | SIT Moves Into Forest Near Snanaghatta, TNM goes to court
Uploaded: 2025-08-06T14:48:45Z
Description: The News Minute has filed two writ petitions in the Karnataka High Court challenging gag orders that restrict reporting on the Dharmasthala mass burial case.

The News Minute has filed two writ petitions in the Karnataka High Court challenging gag orders that restrict reporting on the Dharmasthala mass burial case.

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The first petition contests an ex-parte injunction secured by employees of the Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project, which followed TNM’s reporting on the Sowjanya case—despite TNM not being named in the suit. The second challenges a July 2025 order demanding the takedown of over 8,000 links, with TNM listed as defendant number 47 among 339.

On Day 9 of exhumation, the SIT did not begin work at Site 13, the final spot identified by the whistleblower. Instead, digging resumed at a forested area near Snanaghatta, now referred to as Site 14. Two individuals, including Sowjanya’s uncle Vittal Gowda, approached SIT with burial claims but were directed to file police complaints, as SIT lacks authority to register FIRs. Watch Shivani Kava’s update.