MANGALURU: Kusumavathi has objected to the appointment of some police officers to the Special Investigation Team (SIT), constituted to investigate the rape and murder of her daughter Sowjanya in 2012.
In a press release, Kusumavathi stated that she is not satisfied with the SIT. The Supreme Court in its order directed the state government to constitute the SIT comprising efficient investigators well versed in modern investigative technology. “But the appointment of the SIT chief is not done as per Supreme Court directions,” she added.
Speaking to TNIE, she urged the state government to appoint efficient and honest officers to ensure there is a transparent probe into the case and culprits are punished. “Some officers appointed to the SIT are not suitable to probe the case.
We are grateful to the Supreme Court for intervening and directing the state government to form the SIT and conduct a fresh probe into the case. I appeal to the state government to constitute a team of efficient investigating officers to conduct a fair probe without bowing to any pressure and ensure my daughter gets justice.
In the last 14 years, various investigations have failed to identify the culprits and at least now the freshly constituted SIT must probe the case in a transparent manner,” she appealed.
In a press release, Social activist Shekhar Laila urged the state government to drop police officers N Shashi Kumar and Venkatesh Prasanna from the SIT, claiming that both officers are facing corruption and other charges.
Sowjanya, a student of SDM College in Ujire, went missing while returning home from college on October 9, 2012. Her body was found the next day in a forested area near Nethravathi river in Dharmasthala. The postmortem confirmed that she had been sexually assaulted before being murdered.