The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has initiated a preliminary investigation into the Dharmasthala case in Karnataka, focusing on alleged dubious foreign funding linked to communal conspiracies. The probe under FEMA will examine NGOs and stakeholders, with further action if violations are found, as BJP demands a wider investigation
Representational Image. File Pic
The recent development in the Dharamsthala case has taken another turn after the complainant took back her plaint earlier. On Tuesday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has now a preliminary investigation into the allegations of dubious foreign funding used to fuel communal conspiracies during the ongoing Dharmasthala row in Karnataka, official sources said on Tuesday, according to PTI.
The agency is gathering facts and documents related to all entities and stakeholders, including some NGOs, who are alleged to have used suspect funds to stoke controversy, reported PTI, citing sources privy to the development.
Sources said that the central probe agency has initiated a preliminary investigation under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), and further action will be taken if the probe finds proof of foreign funding rule violation and illicit use of funds, reported PTI.
Earlier on Monday, the Karnataka BJP held a "Dharmasthala Chalo" rally to condemn the alleged conspiracy and smear campaign against the temple town in the Dakshina Kannada district.
The party, during the protest, also demanded a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) into the case and targeted the Congress government over its handling of the matter.
BJP, led by its youth wing president Nikhil Kumaraswamy, staged a rally titled 'Dharmasthala Sathya Yatre'. On reaching Dharmasthala, JD(S) leaders also marched from the Netravati riverbank to the Lord Manjunatha temple, where they offered prayers and later met the temple's Dharmadhikari, Veerendra Heggade, extending their support.
The Dharmasthala controversy erupted after Chinnaiah, a former sanitation worker, claimed that he was forced to bury several bodies, including those of women and minors, some of which bore signs of sexual assault, in Dharmasthala when he was employed at the temple town between 1995 and 2014.
The implications by Chinnaiah pointed towards the administrators of the local temple. Furthermore, he was arrested on charges of perjury.
After registering his complaint, a special investigation team (SIT) formed by the state government is probing the charges, and it has excavated multiple locations identified by the complainant in the forested areas along the banks of the Netravathi River. Some skeletal remains were found at two sites.
(With inputs from PTI)
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