A video by Kannada content creator Sameer MD on February 27, 2025, has reignited public interest in the Sowjanya rape and murder case, shedding light once again on the tragic events that unfolded in Karnataka’s Ujire.
Sowjanya, a second-year Pre-University student of the Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara College, went missing on October 9, 2012 and was found dead the next day near the Nethravathi river, her hands bound to a tree with her shawl. The case garnered widespread outcry and demands for justice. The sole accused in the case, Santhosh Rao, was acquitted by a Bengaluru Sessions Court on June 16, 2023.
Throughout the legal proceedings, Sowjanya's family maintained that Santhosh Rao had been wrongfully implicated, alleging flaws in the investigation and asserting that Veerendra Heggade, a religious leader from Dharmasthala, shielded the actual perpetrators. The acquittal prompted public protests and renewed calls for a fresh inquiry into the case.
The recent video by Sameer MD has drawn both support and criticism. Followers of Veerendra Heggade accused Sowjanya’s family of paying the creator Rs 30 lakh to produce the video. The creator, Sameer, denied these allegations, stating, “I don’t even pay my video editor.” He also said that his personal details, including his mobile number and address, were leaked online, adding, “I don’t know how religion and caste came into asking for justice.” The video in Kannada has over 13 million views on YouTube.
Vittal Gowda, Sowjanya’s uncle, dismissed the allegations. He told TNM, “The call for justice for Sowjanya has been happening for more than a decade now. We didn’t have to pay anyone then, we don’t have to pay now. We are not in a position to pay anyone.”
After 11 years of investigation, a Bengaluru court acquitted the lone accused, Santhosh Rao, of all the charges in 2023. The court found that evidence was planted or ignored. It said that the investigation was flawed and medical reports were tampered with. The case by the Crime Investigation Department and then the Central Bureau of Investigation against Santhosh was based on three things – his confession to the police, recovery of his clothes, and injury marks. But the court found that none of these were fool proof enough to implicate Santhosh.
Read TNM story to understand how the case was botched up, in the absence of CCTV footage and destruction of DNA evidence.
Sowjanya’s father, Chandappa Gowda, tirelessly pursued the case, filing a writ petition seeking a fresh investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and action against officials responsible for the botched investigation. Chandappa passed away on January 19, 2025, after battling cancer. The Karnataka High Court rejected the plea for reinvestigation in April 2024, stating that no purpose will be served even if reinvestigation is permitted.
Santhosh Rao, who spent years in prison before his acquittal, filed a writ petition in the High Court seeking Rs 50 lakh in compensation for malicious prosecution. The HC had said the quantum of compensation to be fixed is a question of fact and therefore he would be at liberty to initiate an independent action in the appropriate forum.
Meanwhile, the ADGP (Law and Order) R Hitendra has written to all SPs and Police Commissioners stating that social media monitoring cells in their respective jurisdictions had failed to bring these videos to the notice of higher officers. “There is a possibility that public opinion for or against the issue may be created and affect the law and order.”
The ADGP then directed the officers to ensure that the social media monitoring cells in their respective jurisdictions are proactive and furnish information regarding the action taken over the issue.
Editor’s Note: TNM has used Sowjanya’s name with written consent from her mother.