Mangaluru
BJPÂ State President Nalin Kumar Kateel urged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to order a reinvestigation into the death of Sowjanya in Dharmasthala. He said the BJP will stage a protest demanding reinvestigation into the murder of Sowjanya, at Belthangady on August 27. He was addressing a press conference at Hotel Ocean Pearl.
Sowjanya was sexually assaulted and murdered in 2012. Even after handing over the case to the CBI, the victim’s family failed to get justice, Kateel told media persons.
He demanded that all the culprits who were responsible for the murder should be arrested through a fresh probe. Culprits should be arrested, and strict action should be taken against them. The CBI has acquitted lone suspect Santhosh Rao, who was arrested by the police soon after the murder. The state government should clear the doubts in the minds of people with regard to the murder of Sowjanya, by tracing the real culprits, Kateel said. The BJP’s stand on the case is clear, that the party wants justice for the family of Sowjanya, he said.
BJP MLAs, MLCs and MPs from Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts will take part in the protest. Meanwhile, a delegation of BJP’s elected representatives will meet the Chief Minister and the Governor the next day, to demand for a reinvestigation into the case, Kateel said. To a query on malicious campaigns against the Dharmasthala shrine in connection with the Sowjanya murder case, Kateel said, our fight is only to demand justice for Sowjanya, and we want the real culprits to be arrested.
The BJP State President was also mum on the graft charges that the party has levelled against the Congress Government, especially against Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar. Recently, Belthangady MLA Harish Poonja and MLC Prathap Simha Nayak met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and demanded reinvestigation into the murder of Sowjanya, soon after the CBI court acquitted Santhosh Rao.
