Belthangady, Nov 08, 2023: The CBI has approached the High Court challenging the Special Court orders acquitting Santosh Rao, the lone accused in the Sowjanya rape and murder case that took place in Dharmasthala 11 years ago.
The Special Court had acquitted Santosh Rao in its verdict on July 16 this year on the grounds that there was lack of substantial evidence against him.
The CBI Special Court of Bengaluru had provided a 60-day time to appeal against the acquittal. However the appeal has been filed almost four months after the judgment. It has been learnt that the CBI believes that Santosh Rao himself is the true culprit and was likely to furnish documents during the hearing.
It may be recalled here that the High Court had earlier dismissed a PIL seeking reinvestigation into the case. This PIL was filed by Girish Bharadwaj of Bengaluru.