MANGALURU: Chinniah, the whistleblower in the alleged Dharmasthala secret burial case, who was arrested last month for perjury, recorded a fresh voluntary statement before a Belthangady court on Tuesday.
Chinniah, currently lodged in Shivamogga prison, was brought under security and produced before the Additional Civil Judge and JMFC around 3 pm. He gave his statement in a closed court and left around 6.30 pm. This is the second time he has submitted a voluntary statement.
A former sanitation worker in Dharmasthala between 1995 and 2014, Chinniah had on July 3 alleged that he was forced to dispose of bodies of murder and sexual assault victims. He was placed under the Witness Protection Scheme, and his identity was initially kept under wraps.
On July 11, he appeared before a magistrate, recorded his statement, and handed over skeletal remains he claimed to have exhumed. His allegations led the state government to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT), which carried out excavations at 17 sites. Human remains were found only at two spots — Site No. 6 and beneath a tree near Site No. 11.
However, forensic tests later revealed that the remains he submitted — which he claimed were of a woman — were male. Based on this, he was booked for perjury and arrested on August 23.
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