Dharmasthala mass burials: Woman admits she ‘faked’ daughter’s disappearance in 2003, says ‘was asked to say it’

A woman named Sujatha Bhat who was the first to lodge a fresh police complaint on 15 July regarding her “daughter Ananya Bhat” disappearance in 2003, has now said that the story she told was “fake and is not true”. She alleged that activists pressured her to create the story due to a “property issue”.

“It is not true. There was never any daughter named Ananya Bhat,” HT quoted her statement to a Youtube channel, adding the photograph that was shared as a proof of her “daughter’s” existence was also “completely fake”. She claimed that two well-known activists, namely, Girish Mattannavar and T Jayanti asked her to make up the story.

The case was filed after the whistleblower went public to allege decades-long undocumented burials in forest areas which he claimed the temple authorities ordered.

Why did the woman fabricate the story?

She said, “Some people told me to say it. I was asked to do it because of the property issue. That’s the only reason.” Her grandfather owned the property which was allegedly held by Dharmasthala temple authorities.

“Nobody demanded money from me. I have never asked anyone for money either. What I questioned was how my grandfather’s property was given away without my signature. That is the only thing I asked,” she added.

‘I ask the people to forgive me’

While stressing on that she never did for financial purpose, she mentioned, “Yes, for the people of Karnataka, for the devotees of Dharmasthala… I ask the people of this state, and the whole country, to forgive me…I never needed money.

What did she say in her complaint?

Her recent statements significantly contradicted what she had previously told investigators earlier this week. In her initial complaint, Sujatha alleged that her daughter, Ananya, a medical student aged 18 at the time, went missing in May 2003 during a visit to Dharmasthala. She recounted that while Ananya’s friends went shopping, Ananya stayed behind near the temple premises. However, when the group returned, she was nowhere to be found.

Sujatha further claimed that when she tried to uncover the truth behind her daughter’s disappearance, she herself was kidnapped, restrained, and threatened not to return to Dharmasthala or discuss the matter with anyone. She alleged that she had been physically assaulted, rendered unconscious, and hospitalised in a private medical facility in Wilson Garden, Bengaluru, where she remained in a coma for a month before regaining consciousness.