The Soujanya murder case is being revisited, and the Karnataka BJP wants to meet with Siddaramaiah.

02 Oct 2023
209
0
The Soujanya murder case is being revisited, and the Karnataka BJP wants to meet with Siddaramaiah.

According to BJP Karnataka President Nalin Kumar Kateel, the party would host a public meeting in Belthangady on August 27 to call for a new investigation.

BJP State president Nalin Kumar Kateel speaking at a press conference in Mangaluru on Saturday. | Photo Credit: H.S. MANJUNATH

MANGALURU Seeking a re-investigation into the murder and rape of Soujanya, the BJP on Saturday, August 12, said a delegation of the party would meet Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the last week of August to press for the same.

Dakshina Kannada MP and State BJP president Nalin Kumar Kateel told presspersons here that the party would organise a public meeting in front of Belthangady Taluk Office on August 27 seeking a re-investigation into the case. A delegation of the party would meet Mr. Siddaramaiah in the same week and submit a memorandum.

ALSO READ
Mystery of Dharmasthala: Eleven years and many probes later, no trace of Soujanya’s killer
Mr. Kateel said Soujanya’s family should get justice. The Special CBI Court in Bengaluru has acquitted the lone accused in the case reported in 2012 for lack of sufficient evidence. Then the real culprit should be arrested and punished, irrespective of how powerful he may be. Doubts over the murder and rape case should be cleared, he said.


Asked why the BJP is after this particular case when several such cases have been reported earlier, Mr. Kateel said: “Who murdered and raped Soujanya is still not known. Her family should get justice. That is why the party is demanding re-investigation.”

Earlier, party leaders, including its MLAs, MLCs, Dakshina Kannada core committee members, and the heads of its Assembly units, discussed the Soujanya case in detail at a meeting in the city.

The case pertains to the rape and murder of the 17-year-old pre-university student of SDM College, Ujire, in 2012. She went missing on October 9 and her body was found near Dharmasthala on October 10. The case was controversial as the local people and the victim’s family had alleged that Dharmasthala’s Pattadhikari D. Veerendra Heggade’s family members were involved in the case. However, multiple agencies gave members of the family a clean chit, and did not charge them.

The Belthangady police had arrested one Santosh Rao in connection with the case. The case was later probed by the State’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and it also gave a clean chit to members of Mr. Heggade’s family.

The then Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, heeding to protests, handed over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 2013, and the agency filed a chargesheet in 2014 naming only Mr. Rao as the lone accused in the case. The Special CBI Court in Bengaluru acquitted Mr. Rao in this June.

Leave a reply
Latest Posts
Asia Cup 2025 Schedule:
13 Mar | 2025
Asia Cup 2025 Schedule:

Hey there, cricket fans! Sharing what I know about the Asia Cup 2025 makes me quite happy.

Whatever the Bishnoi community says, it is difficult for Salman Khan to apologize in the black buck case
19 Oct | 2024
Whatever the Bishnoi community says, it is difficult for Salman Khan to apologize in the black buck case

Salman Khan has been advised by the Bishnoi community of Rajasthan to apologize in the blackbuck poaching case - but will the matter end if Salman Khan does so? And will Salman Khan want to take this path?

India Mourns the Loss of Beloved Industrial Icon, Padma Vibhushan Ratan Tata
10 Oct | 2024
India Mourns the Loss of Beloved Industrial Icon, Padma Vibhushan Ratan Tata

Ratan Tata will be cremated with full state honours after passing away on Wednesday at the age of 86 in a Mumbai hospital. In addition, Eknath Shinde, the chief minister of Maharashtra, declared a day of mourning for the renowned philanthropist and industrialist on Thursday.

Ratan Tata: The Visionary Who Shaped India's Industrial Future
10 Oct | 2024
Ratan Tata: The Visionary Who Shaped India's Industrial Future

Ratan Tata, one of the most respected business leaders in India, has left an indelible mark on the nation’s economy through his visionary leadership and values-driven approach. Born on December 28, 1937, into the Tata family, Ratan Tata is the great-grandson of Jamsetji Tata, the founder of the Tata Group, one of India’s oldest and most prestigious conglomerates. Over the decades, Ratan Tata has taken the group to unprecedented heights, earning admiration globally for his business acumen and ethical leadership.