In a fresh plea, Sowjanya’s mother deepens probe into skeleton case
Amid the bitter swirl around the alleged mass burial probe in Dharmasthala, the mother of 2012 murder victim Sowjanya makes haunting revelations before the SIT—reviving pressure for broad truth-seeking
Belthangady: In a compelling development tied to the sprawling Dharmasthala mass-burial inquiry, Sakun’s mother, Kusumavati, filed a new complaint with the SIT this afternoon. Her actions inject renewed urgency into a saga already mired in uncertainty, distrust, and pain.
Kusumavati cited the continuing absence of justice in Sowjanya’s rape-murder—over a decade after her death—and expressed frustration with a system that has yet to deliver accountability despite heightened focus on broader crimes. She emphasised that Sowjanya’s death, along with details regarding suspect Chinnaiah’s prior role in disposing bodies, must be revisited with fresh veracity.
Further, she highlighted that Chinnaiah’s sister Ratna informed the National Human Rights Commission that powerful figures had threatened Chinnaiah in 2014, prompting him to flee the town. Media reports also allege that a man named Ravi Poojari, purportedly involved in exposing the culprits, was allegedly murdered for revealing names. Kusumavati has urged a narco-test to ascertain the truth behind these grave claims.
The SIT, constituted by the state government, is investigating a sanitation worker’s claims of being forced to bury bodies—many of them women and minors—and mapping the hundreds of alleged burial sites. An initial dig yielded a few skeletal remains, and the worker (Chinnaiah) has since been arrested for perjury and removed from protective custody
With this new complaint, families of past victims are reiterating demands for a wider mandate—one that includes Sowjanya’s case and earlier disappearances like that of Padmalatha—to be brought within the SIT’s ambit.
