Whistleblower Who Alleged Mass Rapes and Secret Burials in Indian

Authorities in Karnataka have arrested the man whose explosive claims of mass rapes, murders, and secret burials in the temple town of Dharmasthala triggered a high-profile criminal probe. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) took the complainant, identified by officials as C.N. Chinnayya, a former sanitation worker associated with the town, into custody on Saturday, 23 August 2025, on suspicion of giving false testimony and misleading investigators. His detention follows weeks of intense scrutiny after he alleged that, over decades, hundreds of women and girls were sexually assaulted and killed, and that he had been compelled to bury the bodies at multiple sites around the town. The SIT’s move comes amid mounting inconsistencies, the police say they found in his statements and documents. The arrest marks a dramatic turn in a case that gripped India’s public sphere since July, when the allegations first surfaced and the state government constituted a special team to investigate. In the days leading up to the arrest, police exhumed remains from locations the complainant had indicated, part of a wider effort to verify the scope and credibility of his claims. Religious leaders and community groups tied to Dharmasthala, home to the centuries-old Sri Manjunatha Swamy temple, have firmly rejected the allegations, framing them as a smear attempt against the institution and its custodians. Political voices have also weighed in, with calls from some quarters for a federal handover of the probe, even as the SIT continues to test the complainant’s assertions against forensic evidence and witness testimonies. With the complainant now in police custody and facing potential charges related to perjury and fabrication, investigators say they will press on to establish whether any crimes occurred, and if so, by whom, while courts determine the legal consequences of his statements. For now, the case stands at a pivotal juncture: a sensational narrative that prompted exhumations and nationwide debate has given way to a prosecutorial focus on the credibility of the man who set it all in motion, even as families of missing persons and residents await authoritative answers from the ongoing investigation.

Sources: ABC News, Reuters, Al Jazeera, Hindustan Times, The Times of India.