Soujanya rape & murder: Court slams CBI, police for 'bungling' probe

February 14, 2017

Bengaluru, Feb 14: Four years into the sensational rape and murder of 17-year-old student Soujanya Gowda at Dharmasthala near Mangaluru, both the police and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) seem to have bungled the probe.

sowjanya
A special CBI court was unsparing in its criticism of the central agency’s failure to carry out proper investigation and settle unanswered questions.

On February 7, the special court judge, B S Rekha, allowed an application filed by Soujanya’s father Chandappa Gowda for further investigation and directed the CBI to examine certain witnesses, who were not included in the charge sheet. Gowda had urged the court to direct the CBI to investigate the role played by three people from Dharmasthala — Uday Jain, Mallik Jain and Ashrith Jain.

During the trial, DNA expert Dr Vinod J Lakkappa had testified that the sample of hair recovered from the crime spot belonged to a person other than the accused, Santosh Rao. He also pointed out that police failed to recover any sample of blood, semen or sperm from the clothes of the accused.

The judge noted, “Keen observation of the circumstances of the case diary and the statements of some of the witnesses recorded by the Belthangady police reveal the role of these persons (Uday Jain, Mallik Jain and Ashrith Jain). None of the witnesses has seen the accused Santosh Rao in the vicinity of the place of occurrence either on the date of the incident or prior to it.”

Interestingly, most of the witnesses who have deposed before the court so far stated that it had rained heavily on the night of October 9, 2012, when Soujanya, a PUC student at SDM?College, Ujire, was raped and killed on her way back home.

The body was found the next morning near Belthangady. Interestingly, it was the Jains who had turned Rao over to the Belthangady police. The state government ordered a Criminal Investigation Department (CID) probe into the case. In November 2013, the CID endorsed the local police investigation and said the crime was committed by Rao.

Judge Rekha observed, “The clothes of the victim were not stained with mud and the bag was not wet, even the books were not wet. Further, the undergarment of the victim was not secured by the local police from the place of occurrence.” The court further observed that the CBI had not taken serious note of the murder of one of the material witnesses in the case, Ravi Poojari, a local resident.

“The observations made by PW1 (prosecution witness number one — Soujanya’s father) are borne out from the records and even in my opinion also there are serious lapses on the part of the CBI in not conducting proper investigation (sic),” the court noted and directed the CBI to submit a report by April 24, 2017.

HC denies bail to suspect

The High Court of Karnataka has dismissed the bail petition of Santosh Rao, who is accused of raping and murdering Soujanya. Justice John Michael Cunha dismissed the petition as Rao’s lawyer failed to appear for the third consecutive hearing, reports DHNS from Bengaluru.

The CBI, which is investigating the horrific crime, stated that if Rao was let out on bail, he was likely to tamper with evidence in the case. In the statement of objection, the CBI said there were reasonable grounds to believe that Rao had committed the offence.

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DJ
 - 
Wednesday, 15 Feb 2017

For high profile people, Democracy is mere demo only.
And poor fight for religion, Rich enjoy this fight. God save this country

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News Network
October 26,2024

Bengaluru: Amid protests by farmers in Vijayapura who have been served notices by the Karnataka Board of Waqfs to vacate the land their ancestors had allegedly encroached, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Saturday said the state government will review the situation. 

Speaking to reporters here, he said, "We will review it. The state government and the revenue department will review it. A decision will be taken based on old records." When asked that the Waqf Board had set a deadline to vacate the land, the minister said that is not a problem.

Meanwhile, in the district headquarter town of Vijayapura in North Karnataka bordering Maharashtra, the farmers staged a demonstration at the Deputy Commissioner’s office.

Holding the land records and registered land deeds, the farmers alleged that they were served notice soon after Housing and Waqf Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan visited Vijayapura and directed the Deputy Commissioner to serve notices to the farmers who were sitting on Waqf land.

Farmer leaders alleged that without bringing the matter to their notice, the land records of farmers in Tenahalli village in Indi Taluk and Honvada village in Tikota Taluk were changed and made in favour of Waqf.

Bengaluru South BJP MP Tejasvi Surya on Friday said the Karnataka State Board of Waqfs has claimed its ownership over 1,500 acres of ancestral land of farmers in Honvada village.

Surya, who is also Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha president, said the farmers of Honvada village in Tikota Taluk were served notices declaring their lands as Waqf property "with no evidence or explanation provided".

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October 29,2024

Bengaluru: Following allegations by a section of farmers from Vijayapura district that their lands were marked as Waqf properties, Karnataka Chief Minister Sidddaramaiah on Tuesday said none of them will be evicted, and notices issued to them will be withdrawn.

"No farmer will be evicted from their land. Yesterday Revenue Minister (Krishna Byre Gowda), M B Patil (Industries and Vijayapura district in-charge Minister) and Waqf Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan have jointly said that no farmer from Vijayapura will be evicted from their land," Siddaramaiah said.

Speaking to reporters here, he said in case notices have been issued to farmers, they will be withdrawn.

Responding to a question that similar notices have been issued to farmers in Yadgir and Dharwad districts too, the CM said: "I will ask the Revenue Minister to look into it, nowhere farmers will be evicted."

Seeking to clarify "confusion" over 1,200 acres in Honavada of Tikota taluk being marked as Waqf property, M B Patil had recently said it was due to an “error” in the gazette notification.

He also had said only 11 acres out of the 1,200 acres are Waqf properties, and a task force headed by the Deputy Commissioner will be formed to resolve the issues.

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News Network
October 27,2024

Mangaluru, Oct 27: Dakshina Kannada MP Captain Brijesh Chowta has been appointed to the consultative committee of the Ministry of Defence. 

This esteemed committee, led by Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth, comprises 14 members from the Lok Sabha, six from the Rajya Sabha, and two nominated members. 

Capt. Chowta is among the 14 members selected from the Lok Sabha to represent the voice of the people in this critical sector.

The committee is tasked with providing expert advice to the government on key defence policies, implementation strategies, and national security matters.

Meetings will be held regularly to ensure informed, timely guidance on these crucial issues, according to a press release from MP Chowta's office.

“With our country making strides towards self-reliance in defence under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it’s an honour to serve as a member of the Ministry of Defence Advisory Committee. As both a soldier and a parliamentarian, this role is a true privilege,” expressed Capt. Chowta.

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