Mother wants SIT to probe Sowjanya's murder case

Mangaluru: Kusumavathi, mother of student Sowjanya who was allegedly raped and murdered, on Tuesday urged the government to include her daughter’s case under the ambit of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up to investigate the crimes that allegedly occurred in Dharmasthala. 

Speaking to reporters at her house in Dharmasthala, she said, “Sowjanya, second of my five children, was brutally raped and murdered on October 9, 2012. Santosh Rao, the only accused in the case, was acquitted by the lower courts and the High Court. Who is the rapist then? Thus, SIT must ensure that those involved in the murder of Sowjanya case, don’t go scot free.”  Sowjanya’s uncle Vittal Gowda said, “The formation of SIT has ignited hopes of securing justice for Sowjanya’s family.” 

Vittal Gowda has set up a fancy shop and placed a board with the picture of Sowjanya.

He said he faced harassment for naming his shop after Sowjanya and was forced to relocate it to Nidle, located six kilometres away from Dharmasthala. Meanwhile, Mahesh Thimarody, a functionary of the Rashtriya Hindu Jagarana Vedike, said the SIT will unearth the truth behind the many murders and mass burials in Dharmasthala. 

Mahesh, spearheading a campaign to secure justice for the family of Sowjanya and others for the past 13 years, said that after the formation of SIT, many legal luminaries, including retired judges, had extended all support to it.

‘Set up SIT helpline’

Manjunath N, advocate representing Sujatha Bhat, the mother of medical student Ananya Bhat who allegedly went missing from Dharmasthala in 2003, has urged the government to set up a helpline for the already constituted SIT and to publicise it. 

“Since the SIT was constituted, I have received a few calls from the relatives of individuals who allege horrible experiences and tragedies at Dharmasthala and want to file police complaints but are uncomfortable with complaining to their local police stations. Therefore, I request the government to set up a helpline for the already constituted SIT and to publicise that number,” he said.

He requested that the government notify the SIT’s office as a police station to receive future complaints. “We are aware the SIT acts as a ‘police station’ but is not notified as a ‘police station’. The accused exploit it and seek stays from courts,” he said.