Press Release: All India Feminists Appeal to CM Karnataka: Seek fair and comprehensive investigation, empowered SIT, accountability in the horrific crimes against women in Dharmasthala

[napm india]

PRESS RELEASE:

(See attachment below for full letter) 

All India Feminist Alliance: Urgent Appeal to Chief Minister of Karnataka: Seeking fair and comprehensive investigation and accountability in the horrific crimes against women in Dharmasthala

26th Oct, 2025: All-India Feminist Alliance (ALIFA) of the National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), wrote to the Chief Minister of Karnataka, seeking justice and fairness in the context of the horrific episodes of sexual violence and unnatural deaths in Dharmasthala that have happened over the last few decades and have again come to light over the past few months.

The signatories lent their nation-wide voice of solidarity to the efforts of women’s rights organizations and activists in Karnataka, who have been leading the struggle for comprehensive investigation and accountability, in this grave matter. They also conveyed unequivocal support the families of all the victims who have been fighting for justice, since decades.

All-India Feminist Alliance (ALIFA) fully endorses the 10-point demand Charter of the “Kondavaru Yaaru Campaign and the efforts of women’s rights collectives to raise the issue across the state by organizing events throughout October-November, culminating in a large meeting on the Human Rights Day on 10th December. 

In particular, the letter called upon the Chief Minister to ensure that:

1. The SIT is truly empowered and its scope formally expanded beyond the “mass burial” case, to cover all previous unresolved crimes at Dharmasthala.

2. The SIT remains fully independent and protected from external pressures and is allowed adequate time and resources, to continue and conclude its investigation and submit a comprehensive report.

3. The SIT looks into all the crimes over the past  decades, establishing the systemic lapses, failure of police to conduct impartial investigations and identify the culprits, despite complaints filed by the aggrieved family members.

The signatures also urged the CM to direct strong legal action against officials responsible for lapses in investigation, in terms of the Special CBI Court order dt. 16th June, 2023 and the order dt. 13th September, 2024 of the Karnataka High Court in the Soujanya case.

The feminists said, "The Karnataka Sarkara, which was voted to power, with a hope and promise that it will keep the spirit of Samvidhana alive, faces a litmus test in the Dharmasthala case. The women, within Karnataka and across India, will be watching over your Government’s actions and decisions."

Issued by: 

All-India Feminist Alliance (ALIFA) 

E-mail: nariva...@gmail.com

(Word & PDF Versions of Letter Attached)

Urgent Appeal to Chief Minister of Karnataka: Seeking fair and comprehensive investigation and accountability 

in the horrific crimes against women in Dharmasthala

                                                                                                                                                          25th Oct, 2025

To,

Shri Siddaramaiah,
Chief Minister,
Govt of Karnataka
Vidhana Soudha, Bengaluru  

Dear Siddaramaiah avare, 

We the undersigned are writing to you on behalf of the All-India Feminist Alliance (ALIFA) of the National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), seeking justice and fairness in the context of the horrific episodes of sexual violence and unnatural deaths in Dharmasthala, Karnataka that have happened over the last few decades and have again come to light over the past few months. We wish to add our nation-wide voice of solidarity to the efforts of women’s rights organizations and activists in Karnataka, who have been leading the struggle for comprehensive investigation and accountability, in this grave matter. We stand unequivocally with the families of all the victims who have been fighting for justice, for decades.

As you are aware, the state-wide feminist campaign “Kondavaru Yaaru? Who Killed women in Dharmasthala?" has been intensely involved in highlighting and following-up on the issue since August. A delegation from this Campaign met you recently, conveying 10 specific and significant demands, including the need for the SIT investigating this matter to be truly empowered and independent. Earlier in September, the campaign wrote to Ms. Sonia Gandhi, Chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP), seeking a transparent and fair investigation into the issue.

Kondavaru Yaaru is a vital collective effort to unravel the ‘mystery’ behind the systematic pattern of numerous disappearances, rapes, unnatural deaths and murders of women in the small region of Dharmasthala, Belthangady Taluk, Dakshina Kannada District. The women of Karnataka and the women of India deserve to know the truth: who raped and murdered women in Dharmasthala? The culprits must be punished as per law and those responsible for enabling and covering up the crimes, protecting the guilty must be exposed and held legally accountable; including responsible government officials. 

While your Govt responded promptly and constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) in July, 2025 to investigate the ‘mass burial’ crimes at Dharmasthala, we do believe that given the scale of atrocities committed over many years and decades, the SIT would certainly require more time and resources, to continue and conclude its investigation and submit a comprehensive report. This is only possible through your personal intervention and oversight.
 
We acknowledge that the Govt, under your leadership, has followed-up on implementation of some of the key recommendations of 2018 Report of the state-level High Power Committee headed by former legislator V S Ugrappa, regarding the prevention of atrocities, violence and sexual crimes against women and children in Karnataka. The Committee had mentioned about the mysterious deaths of women in Dharmasthala and had also placed recommendations in this regard. However, while the recommendations of this Committee are now being implemented by the Government, the violence against women across the State and specifically in Dharmasthala has to be dealt with effectively and seriously to secure much-delayed justice for the families of the victims.

In this context, the All-India Feminist Alliance (ALIFA) fully endorses the 10-point demand Charter of the “Kondavaru Yaaru Campaign (Annex-1) and the efforts of women’s rights collectives to raise the issue across the state by organizing events throughout October-November, culminating in a large meeting on the Human Rights Day on 10th December. 

In particular, we call upon you to ensure that:

- The SIT is truly empowered and its scope formally expanded beyond the “mass burial” case, to cover all previous unresolved crimes at Dharmasthala. 

- The SIT remains fully independent and protected from external pressures and is allowed adequate time and resources, to continue and conclude its investigation and submit a comprehensive report. 

- The SIT looks into all the crimes over the past  decades, establishing the systemic lapses, failure of police to conduct impartial investigations and identify the culprits, despite complaints filed by the aggrieved family members.

Your office must be vigilant and take action against anyone trying to obstruct the investigation, no matter how ‘influential’ they may be in political, administrative or religious circles.

We are given to understand that some of the aggrieved families have now also filed complaints before the SIT. We hope the same will be looked into meticulously by the SIT. The state government must ensure necessary safety and anonymity for witnesses and complainants. The family members of the victims must be provided fair compensation and rehabilitation.

We also urge you to direct strong legal action against officials responsible for lapses in investigation, in terms of the Special CBI Court order dt. 16th June, 2023 and the order dt. 13th September, 2024 of the Karnataka High Court in the Soujanya case. Accountability has to be fixed for the gross negligence that has led to this state of utter injustice.

Inputs and assistance of independent women’s rights activists would be a valuable support to the SIT, in this entire process and the same must be welcome. Long-term systematic, institutional, educational measures, as rightly recommended by the women’s rights groups of Karnataka are absolutely essential to effectively address sexual and gendered violence in the state, especially across all religious institutions that operate under the cover of ‘secrecy’ and ‘sanctity’! 

The Karnataka Sarkara, which was voted to power, with a hope and promise that it will keep the spirit of Samvidhana alive, faces a litmus test in the Dharmasthala case. The women, within Karnataka and across India, will be watching over your Government’s actions and decisions.  

We hope you will look into all the aforementioned concerns and demands with the due seriousness it deserves and issue necessary instructions to uphold fairness and justice in this entire matter.  

Thanking you. 


Arundhati Ghosh, Independent Consultant, Bengaluru
Jarjum Ete, Social Activist, Arunachal Pradesh
Laxmi Murthy, Journalist and Researcher, Bengaluru
Dr Preeti Edakunny, Researcher and Writer, Bengaluru
Radhika Desai, Independent Researcher and Consultant, Porvorim, Goa
Sharanya, solidarity worker, Koraput, Odisha
Adv Dr Shalu Nigam, Delhi NCR
Adv Vertika Mani, Org. Secretary, PUCL, Delhi
Adv. Shraddha, Hubballi, Karnataka
Nalini Nayak, Feminist Activist, Kerala
Sunita Rani, Gharelu Kamgar union & NAPM Delhi
Sumitra, Social Activist, Ankuram, Hyderabad
Indranee Dutta, Academic and Activist, Assam
Anuradha Talwar, Paschim Banga Khet Majoor Samity, West Bengal
J Devika, feminist historian, Kerala
Arundhati Dhuru, NAPM Uttar Pradesh
Sumi Das, Feminist, Transgender rights activist, North Bengal
Seema Kulkarni, Feminist and Women Farmers Rights Activist, Pune
Bhanumathi Kalluri, Feminist, Adivasi Rights Activist, Hyderabad
Shewli, Academic and Activist, Mumbai
Adv Priyanka Singh, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
Deepthi, Social Activist, Telangana
Bittu K R, Scientist, Sonipat, Haryana
Gouthami, Feminist Trainer, North Goa
Kiran Shaheen, Independent Writer and Activist, Himachal Pradesh
Dr Sanju, ALIFA, Churu, Rajasthan
Abha Bhaiya, Feminist activist, Himachal Pradesh
Meera Sanghamitra, ALIFA, Telangana
Rituparna Neog, Social Activist, Assam
Dr. Gabriele Dietrich, Pennurimai Iyakkam, Madurai, Tamil Nadu
Biraja Nandan Mishra, Odisha.
Chayanika Shah, Hasrat-e-Zindagi Mamuli, Mumbai
Svati Shah, Academic, Mumbai
Neharika Mahajan, Feminist Academic, Delhi
Prakriti, Social Activist, ALIFA Delhi
Geeta Seshu, Journalist, Mumbai
Anita Cheria, OpenSpace, Bangalore
Meena Saraswathi Seshu, Social Activist, Sangli, Maharashtra
Shilpa Parthan, Researcher, Kerala
Madhuri, Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan, Madhya Pradesh
Nidhi, Feminist Activist, Gurgaon.
Anupriya, Feminist Activist, Bangalore
Varsha, Telangana Mahila and Transgender Organisation's Joint Action Committee, Hyderabad

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10-Point Demand Charter from the Campaign: “Kondavaru Yaaru? Who Killed women in Dharmasthala?

1. Protection of SIT's independence in the Dharmasthala investigation: The independence of the SIT must be protected, allowing it to function freely and continue its investigation without any external pressure, interference, or meddling.

2. Re-investigation of past cases and deaths of witnesses: As per the executive order, the SIT should comprehensively re-investigate all murder or rape cases reported in the last decade, along with new complaints that have emerged, especially cases like Soujanya, Padmalatha, and Yamuna/Narayana, where the killers were identified and investigated but the cases were closed. In connection with these cases, the deaths of witnesses who died under suspicious circumstances, such as Ravi Poojary, Gopalakrishna Gowda, Dinesh Gowda, Varija Acharya, and Harish Madiwala, related to Soujanya's case, should be investigated.

3. Action against negligent officials: As per the judgment of the Karnataka High Court dated September 13, 2024,"In the decency case, the state government must consider the serious dereliction of duty by the concerned officials and investigators as a crime and immediately take action against them. It must ensure strict legal action, including under IPC Section 166 A, (BNS Sec 199), which states that punishment should be given for not acting according to the law.

4. Establish an independent support group to ensure gender justice and accountability: An independent support group should be established to support the SIT in ensuring gender justice and accountability. It should include women's rights experts.

5. Protection for Complainants and Witnesses: The state government, through the Department of Women and Child Welfare and the State Women's Commission, should issue a public notice and provide necessary protection, safety, and anonymity for witnesses and complainants to come forward. Protection, compensation, and rehabilitation should be provided to the victims' families.

6. Strict action against those obstructing investigations: Anyone attempting to suppress the truth or exert pressure using caste/class/religion/political dominance should be prosecuted under the charge of obstructing the investigation.

7. Long-term measures to expedite the implementation of the Ugrappa Committee report and to proceed with the implementation of the Verma Committee report: As a long-term effort, an expert team should review and revise the recommendations of the Ugrappa Committee and the Justice Verma Committee reports, and they should be widely publicized and implemented within a specified period.

8.Implement appropriate and strict security measures for women's safety: Provide security for women by implementing appropriate and strict security protocols such as CCTV surveillance in public and religious places, and women's help desks, and widely raise awareness against all forms of violence against women in these areas. Conduct a statewide campaign to highlight that violence against women is a violation of religious and cultural values.

9. Form internal committees in religious institutions of all faiths: It should be mandatory for all religious institutions of all faiths to establish independent committees under the POSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment of Women) Act to address cases of sexual harassment. An expert committee should be established for monitoring and review.

10. Healthy sex education: Implement healthy sex education as directed by the Supreme Court that teaches mutual respect as human beings, fellow creatures, and fellow travellers.

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