Pic: Allwyn Mascarenhas
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (AM)
Mangaluru, Feb 17: President of Praja Prabhutva Vedike and activist Mahesh Shetty Thimarodi on Friday, February 17 said that he and the family of Sowjanya, who was allegedly raped and murdered in October 2012, have lost faith in the Central Investigation Bureau (CBI) and alleged that 'influential' people were involved in the case.
Addressing mediapersons here, he said, "It is four years since the brutal crime took place. Sowjanya's parents are still waiting for justice. Many protests have taken place. But now, the 50th Additional Sessions Court (CBI special court) has directed fresh inquiry. Despite this, we really do not have any confidence in the CBI. Earlier too, the CBI did an inquiry and found that Santhosh Rao was the only culprit, whereas eyewitnesses have seen three people namely Dheeraj Jain, Malik Jain and Uday Jain at the crime spot. Why is the CBI not looking into this? Is it acting on someone's directions?" he questioned.
"CBI inquiries have rarely resulted in punishment of a criminal in India. We have no faith in CBI. The inquiry into Sowjanya case is going on a slow place since 2012. Many of the evidences are being ignored and overlooked.
"The accused said in a press meet yesterday (February 16) that brain-mapping, blood tests and other tests were done on them, but there is no documented evidence even in the high court. The investigating team even took Sowjanya's clothes from her home. They did not question the witnesses and insist that Santhosh Rao is the only accused. What kind of an inquiry is being done by the CBI? Why this lackluster attitude by the authorities in handling this case?
"It is because influential people are involved in this. CBI inquiry should be first conducted on the investigating officers who handled the case in the first place. We want a CBI inquiry by a team from other states. Even a police constable would have done a better job in handling the case.
"It is being said that Dr Adam was pressurized before the post-mortem was conducted. The impression of bite marks on Sowjanya's chest have been ignored. The doctor purposely omitted this important point in the post-mortem report. It is a plot to save the culprits," he alleged.
"The fresh inquiry from CBI should give us justice. We have left all our hopes on god. If we fail here, we will challenge this case in the Supreme Court. We want a CBI enquiry under the supervision of the Supreme Court," he demanded.
Sowjanya's mother Kusumavathi, uncle Vittal Gowda and others were present.