Propaganda Campaign Against Dharmasthala? Big Claim By YouTuber

Several influencers were paid to make content against Dharmasthala, a YouTuber has claimed, over a month after the town in Karnataka's Dakshin Kannada district got embroiled in an alleged "mass burial" case. Sumanth Gowda, who runs the 'Golden Kannadiga' vlog channel on YouTube, said even he was offered money to do the same, pointing to a propaganda campaign against the holy town. 

The "mass burial" case had surfaced in July after a man alleged that he was forced to bury hundreds of bodies. Speaking about the wide online attention the case received, Mr Gowda said he spoke to several YouTubers who had received funds for making content on Dharmasthala.

"We must look at who all are behind this, who is funding it. I am an eyewitness. They discussed the funding with me as well. I had made a vlog when I was there with them, but I didn't make a video of what we spoke about. If I had the maturity, I would have recorded something," he said.

Read: Masked Man, A Skull, Mass Grave Claim: Decoding The Dharmasthala Conspiracy

He went on to claim that a fellow YouTuber had told him he was getting funds for making such content, and that hundreds of troll pages made by dozens of content creators had made the issue go viral.

Earlier, an elderly woman who had claimed that her daughter had gone missing in Dharmasthala had also backtracked, only to later accuse a YouTuber of forcing her to make the false claim.

The Dharmasthala controversy had erupted in July after a man, CN Chinnayya, claimed that he had helped bury hundreds of bodies, including those of young women who were victims of alleged sexual assault. He had even claimed he was threatened with dire consequences if he refused.

Read: BJP Escalates Dharmasthala Central Probe Demand With March To Temple Town

Chenna had told the police he was riddled with guilt; he was willing to turn police witness and give them the location of the burials after he got protection. Then police filed a case and began a probe.

However, during cross-questioning, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) found he had been lying; they took off his witness protection and arrested him for perjury.

The case had also led to a political flashpoint, with the BJP calling it an "anti-Hindutva conspiracy". "This conspiracy and those behind it need to be exposed. Today it is Dharmasthala; tomorrow, it will be another temple. The agenda is anti-Hindutva," BJP Karnataka chief BY Vijayendra had told NDTV.