Bengaluru, June 12 (IANS) Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President and MLA B.Y. Vijayendra on Friday alleged that a “major conspiracy” had been hatched to tarnish the reputation of the revered Dharmasthala Sri Manjunatheshwara Temple in Dakshina Kannada district and hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus.

He has also sought probe into involvement of foreign forces into the incident.

In a major twist in the ongoing Dharmasthala skull case, Chinnayya, popularly known as the “mask man”, who had earlier made allegations in the mass grave case, has claimed that he was used as part of a conspiracy to malign Dharmasthala, the prominent Hindu pilgrimage centre in Karnataka.

After these sensational allegations, action is likely against the activists who spearheaded the agitation and legal battle demanding action against the temple management, police said on Friday.

Chinnayya has also alleged that he was told that Rs 200 crore had been set aside to ensure that Dharmadhikari Veerendra Heggade was sent to jail.

In his petition, he has further mentioned the name of actor Prakash Raj and claimed that the activists had promised him Rs 50 lakh if their plan succeeded.

A writ petition in this regard was filed before the Karnataka High Court on Thursday.

Following the development, speaking to reporters at the state BJP headquarters, Jagannath Bhavan, in Bengaluru, Vijayendra criticised the decision of the then Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to order a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the Dharmasthala case.

He claimed that the decision was taken without proper assessment and merely based on allegations made by individuals.

“Many facts related to the Dharmasthala case have now come to light. When Siddaramaiah, as the Chief Minister, suddenly ordered an SIT probe, it raised several doubts and suspicions,” Vijayendra said.

He also alleged that Siddaramaiah had initially said that there was no need for any investigation.

“However, after certain vested interests allegedly met Siddaramaiah at his residence, the then Chief Minister (Siddaramaiah) ordered the SIT inquiry,” Vijayendra claimed.

The State party President recalled that the BJP had organised a massive ‘Dharmasthala Chalo’ protest demanding justice and transparency in the matter.

He alleged that the conspiracy involved hundreds of crores of rupees and called for an investigation into the possible involvement of foreign forces.

“It is now becoming clear that enormous funds were involved. There should be a probe into whether foreign entities had any role in this conspiracy,” Vijayendra said.

The BJP leader also accused the Congress-led state government of indirectly strengthening such conspiracies.

He demanded that the truth be brought out regarding who was behind the alleged conspiracy, who financed it, and why the then Chief Minister Siddaramaiah ordered the SIT probe without adequate scrutiny.

Responding to a question on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state, Vijayendra said BJP leaders had discussed concerns regarding the electoral exercise.

He alleged that the state government was creating obstacles despite the Election Commission having decided to undertake the electoral revision.

He claimed that proper instructions and guidance were not being given to Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and that duplicate and deceased voters’ names were not being removed effectively from electoral rolls.

The BJP, Vijayendra said, would decide its future course of action after further discussions on the issue.

–IANS

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