Mangaluru (Karnataka), Aug 6 (NationPress) Tensions escalated in the temple town of Dharmasthala after a violent encounter involving YouTubers near Nethravathi Pangala Cross on Wednesday evening, linked to a contentious ongoing mass grave investigation.

According to police reports, local residents attacked the YouTubers, accusing them of disseminating misleading information regarding the Hindu pilgrimage site and its temple management.

Authorities noted that two to three vehicles were damaged during the fracas, prompting police to use a lathi charge to disperse the crowd. Four individuals, including three YouTubers, were taken to a private hospital for medical attention. Shortly afterward, another group arrived in solidarity with the YouTubers, resulting in confrontations with the locals, which escalated into fistfights and stone-throwing.

Once the situation was under control, law enforcement utilized loudspeakers to instruct the crowd to disperse and avoid further hostilities. This incident has raised alarms amid the sensitive inquiry into the mass grave claims.

Sources indicated that the local group, armed with pipes and various objects, initiated an unprovoked attack. The Dharmasthala police are currently conducting an investigation.

Locals have gathered outside the Dharmasthala police station, staging protests demanding justice. Demonstrators are calling for the presence of the Deputy Commissioner and Superintendent of Police of Mangaluru district to address their grievances.

In a related development, another individual has approached the Special Investigation Team (SIT), claiming to have aided the anonymous complainant-whistleblower in disposing of the bodies of women and girls allegedly subjected to rape and murder in the temple town. The SIT has reportedly interrogated him in-depth and accompanied him to the excavation site.

Sources suggest that six individuals, including the 'new informant', may have assisted the original complainant in burying the remains.

SIT officials continued excavation efforts throughout the day at the recently identified 'surprise' site, where multiple bones were unearthed previously. However, the team did not commence digging at the 13th marked burial site—the last one—due to concerns over water seepage, as it's positioned near the Kindi Bridge and River Netravathi.

The anonymous complainant had previously asserted that over ten bodies were interred at the 13th site. Armed police forces are now providing round-the-clock security for both the 13th marked and newly identified burial locations. No new discoveries were reported at the surprise site on Wednesday, as per SIT sources.

On July 11, a crucial development occurred when an unidentified complainant—who alleged coercion to bury the bodies of women and girls who were raped and murdered in Dharmasthala—appeared in court in Mangaluru district, recording his statement. He requested that the bodies be exhumed in his presence, claiming that the victims exhibited clear signs of sexual assault, found unclothed or without undergarments, and sustaining injuries indicative of brutal sexual abuse.

These disturbing revelations have sparked outrage across Karnataka.

Following these claims, a retired Supreme Court judge and several activists have demanded an inquiry into the alleged Dharmasthala murders, potentially involving multiple fatalities among women, girls, and vulnerable men.

Initially, SIT Chief Pranab Mohanty stated that no significant evidence had been found at prior excavation sites. However, subsequent reports revealed that a torn red blouse and a PAN card belonging to a woman named Lakshmi were retrieved from the first burial location.

Moreover, the whistleblower purportedly submitted a skull—allegedly found at one of the burial sites—to the SIT.