Bengaluru
The Central Investigation Department (CID) has filed an appeal with the High Court challenging the order of the special court that acquitted the accused, Santosh Rao, in the Dharamsthala murder and rape case from 11 years ago. Months after Santosh Rao’s acquittal, the CBI officials have initiated an effort to establish him as the perpetrator of the rape and murder of Saujanya in the courtesy killing case. The state government had previously transferred the investigation of this case to the CBI, which then conducted the inquiry and held a trial in a special CBI court. However, Santosh Rao was acquitted due to a lack of evidence, and the CBI failed to prove the charges against him. The appeal challenging the judgment passed on July 16, 2023, has now been filed. The CBI’s appeal comes several months after the acquittal, as the Bengaluru CBI special court had given them 60 days to file an appeal on July 16. The appeal asserts that Santosh Rao is the actual accused and promises to provide all relevant documents during the retrial. Previously, the High Court had dismissed a public interest petition submitted by social activist Girish Bhardwaj of Seshadripur, Bengaluru, G Naveen Kumar of Belthangadi, and Vinayak Friends Charitable Trust of Puttur, seeking a re-investigation of the case. The court had also suggested alternative avenues for pursuing the matter.
