MANGALURU: Accusing Vittal Gowda, uncle of late Sowjanya, behind the brutal rape and murder of the girl in 2012, activist Snehamayi Krishna said that he has lodged a complaint with Dakshina Kannada SP Dr Arun K to probe the case.
Speaking to reporters in Mangaluru on Monday, Krishna said, “Real accused in the Sowjanya case must be arrested and punished. Documents and evidence available with me indicate that Sowjanya was raped and murdered by her uncle Vittal Gowda. He used to misbehave with her. When she screamed, he choked her to death using a pillow or a similar item.”
"If she was abducted, her bag would have fallen, but it was still there where her body was found. Her family says she did not have food on that day, but during autopsy food was found in her stomach. Those having the intention to rape and murder will not feed the victim. Timings of the incident show she went to Vittal Gowda’s house and had food. Vittal Gowda did not go to his hotel that day. He was home.
"That’s when he tried to rape her and murdered. He hid her body and went back to his hotel and when they started searching for her, he made false claims that he had seen her going towards home and after everyone went home, he dumped her body.
"He tore her uniform and tied her hands using a shawl and left a note with numbers of Prema and Balakrishna to frame them. If a thorough probe was done earlier, propaganda against Dharmasthala would have been prevented. There is clearly police failure,” Snehamayi said, adding that Vittal Gowda must be subjected to narco analysis.
Santhosh Rao who was earlier arrested but acquitted might have been present at the spot and he might have witnessed something or helped them in disposing of the body, Krishna claimed.
YouTubers questioned
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the allegations of mass burials in Dharmasthala questioned Kerala-based YouTuber Manaf and another YouTuber Abhishek. Actvists Girish Mattannavar and Jayanth T and Vittal Gowda were also questioned.