Daijiworld Media Network – Bengaluru

Bengaluru, Sept 6: In a significant legal move, former Dakshina Kannada deputy commissioner and Congress MP Shashikant Senthil has filed a private complaint against Gangavathi MLA G Janardhana Reddy, accusing him of making false and defamatory claims linking him to the controversial Dharmasthala mass burial case.

Senthil, who served as deputy commissioner of Dakshina Kannada before resigning from the IAS and entering politics, said his name is being "unnecessarily and maliciously dragged" into the SIT-led investigation, prompting him to seek legal redress.

Addressing the media in Bengaluru, the MP from Tamil Nadu said, “I have been wrongly portrayed as the scriptwriter and mastermind behind the ongoing SIT probe. Initially, I chose not to react. When Mr Reddy made these accusations, I was attending the Parliament session. His claims are not only false, but childish.”

He alleged that a deliberate narrative is being built to target him: “One fabricated story after another is being floated to malign me. I’ve decided not to remain silent anymore. I will fight this through legal means,” he asserted.

Highlighting his clean record as a senior bureaucrat in Karnataka, Senthil contrasted it with Janardhana Reddy’s tainted history. “As an IAS officer, I served this state with integrity. Mr Reddy, meanwhile, has looted Karnataka’s resources and severely damaged its image nationally. Now such a person pointing fingers at me — how does that even make sense?” he questioned.

Senthil confirmed that he has approached the court seeking an official explanation and accountability from Reddy for allegedly dragging his name into the high-profile case. “I have filed a private complaint demanding clarity on why and how these baseless allegations are being made against me,” he concluded.