Bengaluru/New Delhi: Supreme Court Mondayordered Karnataka police to thoroughly probe the 2012 rape and murder of a 17-year-old college girl in Dharmasthala, about 70km from Mangaluru, reopening one of the state’s most disturbing unsolved crimes.A bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Sanjeev Sachdeva sought a compliance report in three months.This is the third probe into the disappearance, sexual assault and murder of the college student near her house in Dakshina Kannada district in early October that year. Earlier, the case was probed by Karnataka CID and later by CBI, but the person behind the crime has never been identified.Santhosh Rao, who was arrested, was acquitted by a CBI special court in June 2023 for lack of evidence.The fresh probe follows a plea by the teenager’s mother, who alleged crucial evidence had been overlooked by both probes.The top court, which had reserved its judgment on July 22 on a fresh probe, observed that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt and directed action against erring officers.Earlier, Supreme Court had come down heavily on CBI for its “poor” and “non-independent” handling of the case, noting officers did not even visit the crime scene or record the mother’s statement.Senior advocates Shobha Gupta, Anand Sanjay M Nuli and Shekhar G Devasa pressed for a fresh probe by an independent SIT, preferably headed by a former Supreme Court judge. They pointed to serious lapses by the state police, CID and CBI. Karnataka additional advocate general Avishkar Singhvi, on the court’s suggestion, agreed to constitute an SIT for the reinvestigation.Opposing the move, the CBI counsel argued that the agency took over the case in 2013 and filed a chargesheet in 2015, and that a fresh probe after the trial would unsettle criminal jurisprudence.The bench noted that the state had given protection to witnesses, several of whom reportedly died under mysterious circumstances. It was informed that the victim’s belongings remain preserved, opening the possibility of fresh forensic and DNA analyses.Karnataka high court dismissed the victim’s mother’s plea for a fresh CBI investigation on Aug 20, 2024, but observed that further investigation was needed and questioned whether someone other than Rao could have been responsible. The girl’s family has maintained Rao was “wrongly implicated” and that the real perpetrators were being shielded.The order drew a quick response from activist Mahesh Shetty Thimarodi, who has campaigned for a fresh probe. “Since day one, we have been demanding a probe into the case monitored by Supreme Court. Our 14-year-old request has now been heard. I welcome the move,” he said in an interview.The spotlight was back on the case in 2025 after a former sanitation worker linked to a reputed temple alleged he had been “forced to bury or burn hundreds of bodies”, including women and students who he claimed showed signs of sexual assault and murder. He submitted photographs that he claimed showed skeletal remains, prompting Karnataka govt to form an SIT to probe the alleged mass burials.The SIT’s mandate was limited to the mass burial claims. Officials maintained the Dharmasthala rape-murder case could not be reopened without a court order. The whistleblower was later arrested on charges of perjury, and the SIT has largely found his claims to be fabricated.QuotesOnce we receive Supreme Court order, we’ll decide the next course of action. As of now, we are aware of proceedings before SC— Priyank Kharge | Karnataka home ministerSC decision has rekindled our hope of securing justice after 14 years of wait. It shows (Lord) Annappa Swamy and Manjunatha Swamy are with me and have been blessing us in our fight— Mother of the Dharmasthala victimFor several years, certain vested interests have been spreading false propaganda, attempting to tarnish the temple’s image. It is the temple’s desire that the girl receives justice. We hope impartial re-investigation will take the case to a logical conclusionK Parshwanath Jain | manager, Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala
