Dharmasthala ‘secret burials’: Tamil Nadu MP Sasikanth Senthil sues BJP’s Janardhana Reddy for calling him ‘mastermind’

Over the past weeks, a lie was stitched around my name— baseless, political, and meant to stain my public life. I won’t let that pass. Today, I have filed a criminal defamation case against BJP MLA Gali Janardhan Reddy for deliberately spreading false allegations linking me to…

— Sasikanth Senthil (@s_kanth) September 6, 2025

Also on Saturday, Janardhana Reddy urged the Government to recommend an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or the National Investigation Agency (NIA) into Senthil’s role in the alleged attempts to malign the temple town’s image over the claims of secret burials made by a former sanitation worker.

“The masked man hails from Tamil Nadu. Senthil, who is also from Tamil Nadu, is associated with leftists. He resigned from his position to get a Congress ticket and win elections. He must be subjected to investigation,” he added.
The “masked man” is a reference to the complainant in the case, C N Chinnaiah.

Janardhana Reddy, who represents Gangavathi in the Karnataka Assembly, claimed, “It was Senthil who persuaded Rahul Gandhi to direct Siddaramaiah to form a Special Investigation Team. He could have suggested a CBI or NIA investigation, but why SIT? The Congress Government in the state is making a suspicious move by not questioning Senthil in connection with the mass burial case.”

Senthil was the Dakshina Kannada deputy commissioner when he resigned as an IAS officer and joined the Congress. Reddy was arrested in an illegal mining case on the first day of Senthil’s posting as assistant commissioner to Ballari.

In his submission, Senthil’s counsel said, “The complainant (Senthil) is highly depressed as it has caused great harm to him and dented his reputation and standing in society, while also affecting his work as a Parliament member, as people are doubting his integrity in view of the malicious statement made by the accused (Reddy). Thus, the complainant is highly defamed by the malicious and libellous statement made by the accused, describing him as anti-Hindu, mastermind, and instigating through certain persons to bring disrepute to Dharmasthala.”

Senthil said that he was surprised that his name had been dragged into the controversy, adding that the allegations were “baseless and politically motivated”.

“The day I took charge as AC in Ballari, Janardhana Reddy was arrested in a mining scam. I assisted the CBI and other agencies when they were probing the mining case. I have never seen him after that. I assume he is seeking limelight or may have got instructions, or if he is trying to influence Tamil Nadu politics,” he said.

After the defamation suit was filed, Reddy said in Ballari that he had fought several such defamation suits and would fight this one too.