Dharmasthala: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the alleged mass burial case in Dharmasthala resumed exhumation on Saturday at the ninth site identified by the complainant, police said. Officials reached the location adjacent to the Nethravathi riverbank along the Ujire-Dharmasthala-Kokkada state highway (SH-73) around 11.30 am, marking the fifth consecutive day of exumation activity.

According to police sources, the SIT plans to exumate four adjacent sites--numbered 9 to 12-- on Saturday, in the presence of the complainant. These sites are among the 15 locations pinpointed by the anonymous complainant-witness, who has claimed that he had buried multiple human bodies along the riverbank over several years.

Security has been tightened with Dakshina Kannada district police maintaining a protective cordon around the sites. A green fabric barricade has been erected to prevent unauthorised visual access, including from the media and general public. Traffic on the highway, however, continues to operate normally.

The SIT team, assisted by labourers, machinery operators, and mechanical grass-cutting tools, have begun the work at site No 9. A mechanical excavator has also been deployed for deeper digging operations, police sources said. On Thursday, some skeletal remains were recovered from site No. 6. They have been sent for forensic examination. No other recoveries of significance have been made from the remaining sites so far.

The SIT investigation continues under tight secrecy, with daily operations expected to proceed based on emerging findings.