"Let the Stigma Attached to Dharmasthala Be Removed: Villagers Break Eedugai and Pray to Annappa Swamy"

The SIT conducted excavations at 17 locations around Dharmasthala but found no evidence to support the claims, except for a single skeleton at one site, which is now under forensic analysis. The lack of substantiating evidence has fueled anger among devotees and villagers, who staged protests in cities such as Belagavi, Chamarajanagar, Mysuru, Chikmagalur, Tumkur, and Gadag.