MANGALURU: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) has issued a notice to Kerala YouTuber Manaf in connection with the human skull presented by the masked complainant Chinnaiah.
Manaf, who had allegedly been fabricating stories related to Dharmasthala from the beginning, has been accused of spreading false information about Dharmasthala, claiming that hundreds of women were raped and murdered there.

Another complainant, Jayanth T, a close associate of Mahesh Thimarodi, had claimed that the skull was brought from Banglegudda. The video was shot in the forest and uploaded online. It was found near a tree where a saree was tied and it was dug up using a sickle. Manaf had uploaded the video on his channel, and later the human skull was brought to Dharmasthala.
In July 2024, heavy rainfall caused a landslide in Shirur of Ankola taluk in Uttara Kannada district, resulting in the death of 11 people, including lorry driver Arjun, who hailed from Kerala. Interestingly, Manaf is the owner of the same lorry and also a YouTuber from Kerala.

The Dharmasthala police, along with the SIT team, conducted the inspection based on information that Sameer had made videos using a computer and camera at his residence. During the six-hour search, the police seized the computer, camera and a mobile phone used by Sameer to make the videos.
Interestingly, Girish Mattannanavar was already present at Sameer’s house before the police arrived.
