One more case registered against Girish Mattannanavar over Dharmasthala issue; Sujatha Bhat’s lawyer summoned

MANGALURU: A fresh case has been registered against Girish Mattannanavar at the Belthangady police station for allegedly defaming the temple town of Dharmasthala.

The case was registered based on a complaint by one Rajendra Das alleging that Girish Mattannanavar spoke in an objectionable manner during an interview to an YouTube channel. Filmmaker Prakash Sambaragi has also lodged a complaint seeking action against certain YouTubers for spreading false information.

Meanwhile, with the 10-day SIT custody of masked man Chinnaiah ending on Tuesday, the police will produce him before the Belthangady court on Wednesday and are expected to seek another 10-15 days custody of hm.

On Monday and Tuesday, the SIT grilled Chinnaiah till late evening and after seeking further custody of him, the investigators are likely to take him to Mandya and Tamil Nadu.

In a related development, the SIT has issued a notice to Sujatha Bhat’s lawyer Manjunath M to appear for questioning on September 7. The Belthangady police served the notice to the lawyer at his Bengaluru residence.

In a media statement on July 30, lawyer Manjunath had claimed that two bodies were buried at Point No. 1, two each at Point Nos 2 and 3, six each at Points 4 and 5, eight bodies each at Points 6 and 7, six to seven bodies at Point 9, three at Point 10, nine at Point 11, 4-5 at Point 12, and several more at Point 13. The SIT has now sought an explanation regarding the claims.