Mangaluru: The SIT custody of whistleblower Chinnaiah will end on Saturday, when he is scheduled to be produced before the Belthangady court.
Chinnaiah, a native of Mandya district, was arrested on August 23 and remanded to 12 days of SIT custody. When that period concluded on September 3, he was produced before the Additional Civil Judge and JMFC in Belthangady, which granted an extension of custody till September 6.
According to sources, the protection granted to Chinnaih under the Witness Protection Scheme has also ended recently.
During the interrogation, the SIT conducted mahazars at several locations based on information provided by him. These included the house of Mahesh Shetty Timarodi in Ujire, the residence of activist Jayant in Bengaluru, and two service apartments in the city.
Chinnaiah, who worked in Dharmasthala between 1995 and 2014, had filed a complaint on July 3 alleging that he was forced to dispose of bodies of victims of crimes such as murder and sexual assault. He was given protection under the Witness Protection Scheme and his identity was kept a secret.
On July 11, he appeared before a magistrate, recorded his statement, and handed over skeletal remains that he claimed to have exhumed himself.
Though he initially said the remains were of a woman, forensic tests later confirmed them to be male, leading investigators to book and arrest him on charges of perjury.
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