Indian police arrest man who alleged mass rapes and killings in Dharmasthala temple town

Indian police have arrested a man who alleged that he was forced to bury the bodies of hundreds of women raped and murdered in the southern temple town of Dharmasthala, officials said on Saturday.

The man, a former cleaner at the centuries-old Manjunatha Swamy temple, was taken into custody for perjury, according to a member of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) appointed to probe his claims, says the BBC.

"He has been arrested for perjury," an SIT official told the BBC, declining to be named.

The allegations, first made in July, caused widespread concern in Karnataka and prompted the state government to set up an SIT. The man, whose identity has not been disclosed, had filed a police complaint and testified before a magistrate, claiming he worked at the temple from 1995 to 2014 and was coerced into burying the bodies of rape victims, including minors.

The former cleaner said he had remained in hiding for nearly a decade before returning to speak out, blaming "the temple administration and its staff." Temple authorities rejected the allegations as "false and baseless."

When appearing before a magistrate, the man produced a human skull he said he had retrieved from one of the burial sites. The SIT, however, disputed his account. "The skull and skeletal remains he produced are not brought from any spot in which he claimed to have buried the bodies," the official said.

Excavations have been carried out at several locations in and around Dharmasthala, some of them remote and overgrown. Investigators confirmed to the BBC that human remains, including a skull and nearly 100 bone fragments, were recovered at two sites and sent for forensic testing. Their origin has not yet been established.

The inquiry has also drawn attention to the Heggade family, hereditary administrators of the temple. Veerendra Heggade, the chief administrator and a member of India's upper house of parliament, welcomed the investigation, reported the BBC.

"The temple really appreciates the government for appointing the SIT for investigating the alleged unnatural deaths claimed to have occurred in and around Dharmasthala," he said in a statement. "We are already extending full support for the investigation. We have full faith on our judiciary and investigation agency and constitution of India."

Speaking later to news agency PTI, Heggade called the allegations "impossible" and said "once and for all the truth should come out."

The case has become politically contentious, with opposition lawmakers from the Bharatiya Janata Party calling it a "smear campaign" against a Hindu religious site.

State Home Minister G. Parameshwara said the government would not shield or target anyone. "Shouldn't the truth come out? If nothing is found, Dharmasthala's stature will only grow stronger. If something emerges, justice will be delivered," he said.