Beltangady: The Karnataka government has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to conduct a fresh investigation into the Sowjanya case, following the Supreme Court’s September 21 directive for a de novo probe.
Inspector General of Police N Shashikumar has been appointed as the head of the five-member SIT. The government issued an order on September 24 constituting the team in accordance with the Supreme Court’s directions.
Five-member SIT constituted
According to the government order, the SIT comprises senior police officers from different wings of the Karnataka police.
The members are C H Sudheer Kumar Reddy, Mangaluru City Police Commissioner; Nisha James, Superintendent of Police, Intelligence; Lokesh Jagalasar, Superintendent of Police, CID; and Venkatesh Prasanna, Additional Superintendent of Police, Bengaluru Rural.
N Shashikumar will head the team. The composition of the SIT brings together officers from the state police, intelligence, CID and Bengaluru Rural police units.
The Supreme Court had directed the Karnataka government to constitute an SIT headed by a senior state police officer and specified that officers who had been part of the earlier investigations by Belthangady Police, the CID or the CBI should not be included in the new team.
Fresh investigation ordered by Supreme Court
The development follows the Supreme Court’s September 21 order on a petition seeking reinvestigation into the 2012 rape and murder of 17-year-old Sowjanya in the Belthangady area of Dakshina Kannada.
The case was initially registered at Belthangady Police Station and was subsequently investigated by the CID and the CBI. The Supreme Court ordered a fresh investigation by a new SIT.
The court directed that the fresh investigation be completed within three months, after which the police report is to be filed before the appropriate court in accordance with law.
The Supreme Court also made it clear that the fresh investigation should not include officers associated with the earlier probes.
Direction on previously acquitted accused
The Supreme Court’s order also addressed the position of Santhosh Rao, who had earlier been tried and acquitted in connection with the case.
The court held that, having already been tried and acquitted, Rao would not be subjected to further investigation or prosecution in the matter. The order further stated that it should not be construed as expressing an opinion, even prima facie, on the role of any individual.
The fresh SIT investigation is therefore required to proceed independently and in accordance with the directions contained in the Supreme Court order.
SIT to undertake fresh probe
The newly constituted team will conduct the investigation under the framework laid down by the Supreme Court. The team has been tasked with completing the fresh probe within the stipulated three-month period and submitting the police report before the competent court.
The constitution of the SIT marks the beginning of the fresh investigation ordered by the apex court into the long-running case. The investigation and subsequent legal proceedings will determine the findings emerging from the new probe.