SIT issues notice to Sujatha Bhat in ‘missing’ daughter Ananya Bhat case

MANGALURU: The special investigation team (SIT), constituted to probe the alleged mass burials in Dharmasthala, on Friday issued a notice to Sujatha Bhat, a Dharmasthala native, who has claimed that her daughter Ananya Bhat went missing years ago.

Sujatha Bhat was served the notice at her Bengaluru residence and told to appear for questioning at the Belthangady SIT office and produce documents regarding Ananya Bhat. Sujatha Bhat reportedly told the police that she will present herself for inquiry at the earliest.

The SIT has taken the case of Ananya Bhat seriously and is also likely to issue notices to other in the case to join the investigation. The police have already visited Shivamogga, Bengaluru and Udupi and collected documents.

The SIT has stepped up its investigation after the Ananya Bhat case was handed over to it. Sujatha Bhat had claimed that her daughter Ananya Bhat had gone missing from Dharmasthala in 2003, but except for a passport size photograph, she has so far not produced any other material.

However, there is widespread talk that no person by name Ananya Bhat existed around that time. The police have also examined documents at medical colleges in Mangaluru and Manipal, where Ananya Bhat was reportedly a student, but did not find any documents.