(MENAFN- IANS) Bengaluru, Aug 15 (IANS) Reacting strongly to Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, who recently claimed that there's a“conspiracy against Dharmasthala,” Union Minister Pralhad Joshi questioned whether the state government, which hastily formed an SIT, is itself behind the conspiracy in connection with the mass grave allegations.

Speaking to reporters in Delhi on Friday, Joshi asked,“If Shivakumar is aware of the conspiracy in the Dharmasthala case, how could Chief Minister Siddaramaiah not know about it?”

He said that the state government took up the case following an anonymous allegation that hundreds of unidentified bodies had been buried in Dharmasthala.

Joshi criticised the urgency of forming a Special Investigation Team (SIT) and questioned whether there was a real need for such haste.

He further asked whether the government was indirectly supporting an attempt to smear Dharmasthala's reputation by taking such rushed actions.“Was this all part of a larger conspiracy by the government itself?” Joshi questioned pointedly.

Shivakumar had earlier stated,“There is a conspiracy against Dharmasthala. I won't say by whom, but there's a clear, well-planned strategy to bring disrepute. I won't go into details. There is an attempt to destroy a centuries-old tradition and legacy.”

Joshi reiterated,“If the Dy CM knows all this, how is it possible that the CM is unaware?”

Despite Shivakumar's claim that a conspiracy is underway, CM Siddaramaiah went ahead with the SIT investigation. Why? asked Joshi.

Joshi also asked if Siddaramaiah ordered the SIT investigation and excavation work even after knowing the truth.“If any clues had been found during the initial police investigation, only then should an SIT have been formed. But here, the government has ended up 'digging a hill and not even catching a rat,'” Joshi remarked sarcastically.

In a major development on July 11, an unidentified complainant - who claimed he had been forced to bury the bodies of women and girls who were raped and murdered in Dharmasthala - appeared before a court in Mangaluru district and recorded his statement.

He requested that the bodies be exhumed in his presence and alleged that the victims bore clear signs of sexual assault.

According to him, the bodies were found without clothing or undergarments and had injuries consistent with violent sexual abuse.

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