Ex-wife reveals murky past of the ‘Mask Man’, centred around Dharmasthala Mass Burials case

Mandya: The ‘Mask Man,’ who has hit headlines for the mystery surrounding Dharmasthala Mass Burials case under Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe, now himself stands in a dock, with his ex-wife exposing his murky past.

His first wife, whose identity has been kept anonymous, has branded him as a ‘cheat and liar,’ who according to her, may have levelled grave allegations against Dharmasthala, only for making a fast buck.

“We got married in the year 1999 and raised the family including a son and daughter for seven years. He lacked good conduct and was uttering lies always. He was torturing me to the hilt. Even at the time of securing a divorce, he had misled the Court, saying that he was jobless, only to avoid paying alimony for the upkeep of his children. Hence, I couldn’t get justice from the Court. It was my mother, who raised the children,” said the Mask Man’s estranged wife.

The woman further added that, she along with her former husband was living at a tiny house near Netravathi River in Dharmasthala. He was working as a sweeper, besides cleaning the toilet and doing other odd jobs. The allegations of rapes and murders and claims of burying hundreds of bodies of victims are all cooked up stories, as he had never shared any such incidents with me then.

The villagers of Chikkaballi in Mandya taluk, the native place of the Mask Man, have vented their anguish against the latter. His parents were working as hamalis at Hallagere Gram Panchayat. Being a lazy person, he (Mask Man) was not doing any job. After the death of his parents, he deserted the village and found a job in Dharmasthala. He was caught stealing the valuables of devotees, following which he was sacked from the job. He returned to his native, only to pick up a fight with the villagers and desert the village again.