In a significant turn of events within a highly sensitive legal case, sanitation worker Chinnayya—who previously claimed he had personally buried the bodies of countless victims in the holy town of Dharmasthala—has approached the Karnataka High Court. On 11th June 2026, Chinnayya submitted a writ petition seeking explicit directions to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to expedite its probe and file its final, comprehensive report regarding the case registered at the Dharmasthala police station.

According to his latest petition, Chinnayya now asserts that he was used as a pawn in a massive, orchestrated campaign designed to defame the renowned pilgrimage destination and systematically target its revered Dharmadhikari, Dr. Veerendra Heggade. The worker stated that a highly organized conspiracy was hatched by a network of specific individuals, socio-political activists, local YouTubers, and outside influencers. He has formally requested the court to act against the individuals named in the initial preliminary enquiry report and asked the judiciary to fully consider the details of his previous complaint dated 18th December 2025.

South Indian Actor Implicated in the High Court Petition

A striking element of Chinnayya’s petition is the direct mention of well-known actor Prakash Raj. The petitioner informed the High Court that Girish Mattannavar—one of the key activists allegedly driving the anti-temple campaign—dialed Prakash Raj during the operation and handed the phone over to him.

Chinnayya alleged that the actor spoke directly to him in Tamil, instructing him to blindly follow whatever narratives and statements Mattannavar had tutored him to say before the authorities. According to the petition, Prakash Raj attempted to reassure the worker by promising that he would eventually come down in person and give him a hug as a reward for his cooperation.

Further details in the court documents outline a staggering financial framework behind the alleged smear campaign. Chinnayya claimed that another prominent activist, Mahesh Shetty Thimarodi, explicitly told him that the "plan budget" to fully execute and sustain this legal and media conspiracy against the temple administration was approximately Rs 200 crore. To secure his compliance, Thimarodi reportedly promised Chinnayya a sum of Rs 50 lakh if he cooperated with the group and successfully ensured that Dr. Veerendra Heggade was sent to prison.

When the sanitation worker questioned Thimarodi and Mattannavar regarding the actual origin of such massive litigation funds, they initially refused to disclose any details. However, Chinnayya alleges that they later admitted the money was flowing in from networks in Kerala, and further claimed that an unnamed influential woman operating out of Chitradurga served as a primary source of funding to manufacture unrest in the sacred town.

Coercion, Abuse, and a Prevented Suicide

The legal petition paints a dark picture of intimidation, alleging that the conspirators resorted to severe physical and psychological pressure to keep the narrative alive. Chinnayya stated that he was completely forced to record scripted video statements for various YouTubers under the instructions of the organizers. He was also allegedly given rigorous training and mock sessions on exactly how to depose and maintain the fabricated story before a court of law.

The worker declared that he was subjected to continuous physical and mental harassment when his statements did not perfectly align with the conspirators' goals. Furthermore, he informed the court that his own relatives were forcibly detained at Mahesh Shetty Thimarodi’s private residence for two days and subjected to direct threats.

Out of sheer guilt and fear that his orchestrated, false statements would permanently ruin the reputation of Dr. Veerendra Heggade and the temple, Chinnayya claimed he attempted to commit suicide. However, the petition notes that Girish Mattannavar and other associates physically intervened, stopped the attempt, assaulted him, and explicitly warned him that they strictly needed him alive to deliver the scripted, false evidence in court.

Upon hearing these detailed allegations, Justice Suraj Govindaraj issued formal notices to the Karnataka state government, the Special Investigation Team, and other involved parties, officially adjourning the matter to 29th June 2026 for a status update.

Public Backlash and the Actor's Defense

The revelation has triggered widespread public outrage across Karnataka. As reported by authentic media coverages detailing the public fury, members of the Sri Rama Sene staged major demonstrations against Prakash Raj, burning his effigies and demanding that the SIT immediately interrogate him for attempting to malign a major Hindu pilgrimage center.

Responding swiftly to the exploding controversy, Prakash Raj issued a public statement via social media, dismissing the legal allegations as mere "hot air." Acknowledging that the matter is deeply sensitive and touches the sentiments of millions of temple devotees, the actor stated that he is currently traveling but will soon hold an in-person press conference to clear all doubts and dismantle what he considers a baseless rumor.

Anatomy of a Collapsing Hoax

To understand how the controversy reached the High Court, it is essential to trace the background of the Dharmasthala mass burial case. The entire saga erupted after a masked man—later identified as Chinnayya, who served as a sanitation worker for the Dharmasthala gram panchayat until 2014—publicly claimed that he had been forced to secretly bury the bodies of hundreds of sexually assaulted women and minor girls in the temple town between 1995 and 2014.

Following his initial police complaint on 3rd June and his submission of a human skull before a local magistrate as proof, public outrage forced the Karnataka government to set up a dedicated Special Investigation Team (SIT) on 19th July to investigate the claims.

However, the sensational case collapsed rapidly under scientific scrutiny. The SIT systematically excavated 17 distinct locations across the Nethravathi River basin and surrounding areas identified by the whistleblower, even deploying advanced ground-penetrating radar. Despite extensive digging, the search failed to reveal any mass graves or evidence of systemic crime.

Forensic testing conducted on the singular skull Chinnayya had produced proved it belonged to an adult male who had passed away approximately 30 years prior, rather than a young female victim. Other bone fragments retrieved from a separate site were similarly verified to be male. Consequently, Chinnayya was arrested for perjury for lying under oath, shifting his legal status from a protected whistleblower to the primary accused in manufacturing a hoax.

For an in-depth visual breakdown of the local public reactions, political statements from state ministers, and interviews regarding the unfolding Rs 200 crore conspiracy case, you can watch this archived regional broadcast of the Dharmasthala Conspiracy Case Debate. This broadcast provides valuable context on how local investigative channels and public figures covered the immediate fallout after Chinnayya's high court petition became public.