DHARMASTHALA: The second phase of the search operation is continuing near the Netravati bathing ghat in Dharmasthala. The search was conducted on Wednesday at the third point out of the 13 points marked earlier. Nothing suspicious has been found from here so far. The search was conducted at the first and second points on Tuesday.

According to the statement of the witness, a sanitation worker, points three to eight are crucial. These forest-covered points are located on the Ujire- Belthangady -Mysore road near Dharmasthala. The witness had revealed that this is the area where the supervisors had taken him to bury the bodies. The SIT team also assesses a high possibility of finding the remains of the bodies in this high-altitude area under the control of the forest department.

As it was difficult to transport the JCB and Hitachi into the forest where the trees were densely packed, about 13 workers used pickaxes and other equipment to search the area on the first day. After finding nothing suspicious, the cleaning worker insisted on digging deeper on Wednesday. A mini Hitachi was then brought in. They dug eight feet deep and 15 feet wide for more than two hours, but nothing was found.

There are also concerns about the purported remains being displaced from the current location during the massive 2018 flood in the Netravati River. The entire area surrounding the first and second points was flooded in 2018.

These places, which were also visited by the most pilgrims, have also undergone large-scale construction, including roads. There are concerns that this will hinder the search for the remains of the bodies.

Further action will be taken only after the SIT officials review the inspection carried out at the points marked by the witness. An SIT armed team is guarding with guns to prevent the destruction of evidence.