We will not give Dharmasthala case to NIA, we can't say 'no' if ED launches probe: K'taka HM

Bengaluru, Sep 2 Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara said on Tuesday that the state government will not hand over the alleged Dharmasthala mass murders case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). He, however, clarified that if the Enforcement Directorate (ED) initiates its own probe into the alleged "conspiracy funding" case, the state government cannot stop it.

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru on Tuesday, HM Parameshwara said, “The BJP is demanding an NIA probe into the case. There is no necessity to hand over the Dharmasthala case to the NIA. We have formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT), and it is doing its job. In this background, when the SIT is already investigating, there is no need to transfer the case to another agency.”

“I have already made a statement in this regard, and the Chief Minister has also clarified it. The BJP is taking the case in a different direction every day and making this demand. There is no necessity to hand over the case to the NIA,” he reiterated.

On the issue of alleged funding to hatch a conspiracy to defame Dharmasthala, HM Parameshwara said, “Let the ED investigate funding if they want; we cannot object to it. They will probe financial and related aspects from their own angle.”

Responding to BJP state President B.Y. Vijayendra’s visit to the residence of Soujanya, the minor girl who was allegedly kidnapped, gang-raped, and murdered in Dharmasthala in 2012, HM Parameshwara said, “I will stick to my stand. We have handed over the Dharmasthala murder case to the SIT. They are demanding an NIA probe, but we will not hand over the case to the NIA.”

“Until the investigation is completed, we cannot disclose any details. I have been repeating this. If the investigation is meddled with, such demands may arise. I don’t know their intentions — whether they want to obstruct the investigation. It appears so to me, because the investigation is being carried out properly and there has been no error on the part of the SIT. The question of handing over the case to another agency arises only if there is an error in the current investigation,” HM Parameshwara said.

He underlined that there has been no lapse by the SIT so far.

Asked about his meeting with SIT chief Pronab Mohanty, he said, “Mohanty met me for a different reason. Mohanty meets me regarding various matters, and the SIT is one among them. As he is incharge of the Internal Security Division (ISD), he has other responsibilities as well. In that context, he comes to brief me.”

When asked about a woman’s claim that she had seen a minor girl being kidnapped in Dharmasthala, HM Parameshwara said that all such aspects will be part of the investigation and the SIT will look into it.

“I do not respond to every statement made by BJP leaders. Our responsibility is to ensure the SIT investigates and submits its report,” he said.

On the ED's reported interest in the case, HM Parameshwara said, “I don’t know the terms of reference under which the ED will probe. As per the SIT’s terms of reference, the statement of Chinnaiah, the ‘mask man’ complainant, before the court is being examined.”

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