In a significant development in Karnataka's Dharmasthala mass burials case, the mother of 17-year-old Soujanya—who was allegedly raped and murdered in 2012—attempted to file a complaint against Chinnaiah.
Soujanya's mother Kusumavathi arrived at the Belthangady SIT station to file a complaint, demanding that the 2012 Soujanya case be re-opened for further investigation, in light of the developments in the Dharmasthala case.
However, she was denied, and was told to file the complaint only when notified, as per an Asianet News Kannada report. The SIT is currently questioning Chinnaiah and Sujatha Bhatt in connection with their claims around the Dharmasthala mass burials—some of which were reportedly unclear or were proven false.
Chinnaiah, who was reportedly working at Dharmasthala at the time Soujanya was murdered, had said in a now-viral YouTube interview that he had seen her body being carried away.
Following Soujanya’s murder, he claimed that he was forced out of the village as locals feared he might reveal it. Chinnaiah further alleged that several bodies had been buried at the same spot where Soujanya’s remains were discovered.
Home Minister G. Parameshwara had earlier said that reopening the investigation into Soujanya's case was futile.
“...the incident occurred on October 9, 2012. There were no eyewitnesses, and the case depended on the circumstances. Nobody saw the girl being forcibly taken by the suspects or somebody else. Medical evidence cannot be improved, and so also the forensic evidence. It is doubtful that evidence that could not be collected at the golden hour is still available,” a two-judge bench of the Karnataka High Court had said about the case in 2024, while rejecting a plea for reinvestigation, as per a report in The Hindu.
The Soujanya case
Soujanya was a 17-year-old student who was raped and murdered in Dharmasthala. Initially probed by the local police, public outcry at what people felt was a botched-up investigation led to the Criminal Bureau of Investigation (CBI) taking over.
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After 11 years of investigations by multiple agencies, a CBI special court acquitted the lone accused, Santosh Rao, in 2023.
The court categorically stated while pronouncing the verdict on June 16, 2023, that there was no evidence against Santhosh.
