Archive · 21 Sep 2026
Supreme Court Orders Fresh Probe Into 2012 Soujanya Killing
Soujanya was a 17-year-old girl from Karnataka who was raped and murdered in 2012.
She disappeared while returning home from college near Ujire.
Her body was found the next day near her house.
Police and the Central Bureau of Investigation investigated the crime.
Santhosh Rao was accused, but a CBI court acquitted him in 2023 after the prosecution failed to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt.
Soujanya’s mother asked for the case to be investigated again.
The Supreme Court of India has now ordered a fresh investigation.
The new team cannot include officers who worked on the earlier investigations.
It must report its progress to the court within three months.
The Supreme Court of India ordered Karnataka police to reinvestigate Soujanya’s 2012 rape and murder.
Investigators must exclude officers involved in earlier probes and file a compliance report within three months.
Soujanya’s mother, Kusumavathi Gowda, sought reinvestigation after alleging overlooked evidence and investigative deficiencies.
Santhosh Rao, previously convicted by a trial court, was acquitted by a CBI special court in 2023.
The case regained attention amid separate 2025 allegations about alleged mass burials near Dharmasthala.
- Who
- Soujanya, her mother Kusumavathi Gowda, Santhosh Rao, Karnataka police, and the Supreme Court of India are central to the case.
- What
- The Supreme Court of India ordered a fresh investigation into Soujanya’s 2012 rape and murder.
- When
- The crime occurred in 2012; Santhosh Rao was acquitted in June 2023, and the new team has three months to report.
- Where
- Soujanya was found dead near her home in Ujire, in Karnataka’s Dakshina Kannada district, after disappearing near Dharmasthala.
- Why
- Kusumavathi Gowda sought reinvestigation, alleging that important evidence was overlooked and earlier investigations had deficiencies.
Fresh-Probe Supporters
Earlier Investigation Position
Need for reinvestigation
Fresh-Probe Supporters
Soujanya’s mother and her supporters argue that important evidence was overlooked, the earlier investigations were deficient, and the true perpetrator was not held accountable.
Earlier Investigation Position
The case had already been investigated by Karnataka police and the Central Bureau of Investigation; Santhosh Rao was ultimately acquitted after prosecutors failed to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt.
Role of the Dharmasthala allegations
Fresh-Probe Supporters
The 2025 allegations by a former sanitation worker brought renewed public attention to Soujanya’s case, and her advocate welcomed the fresh-probe order.
Earlier Investigation Position
The Karnataka government’s Special Investigation Team was examining the separate mass-burial allegations, while authorities said the Soujanya case required a court order to be reopened.
- Victim
- Soujanya, a 17-year-old girl
- Crime
- Rape and murder
- Location
- Ujire, Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka
- Original investigation
- Conducted first by the Karnataka Criminal Investigation Department and later by the Central Bureau of Investigation
- Earlier accused
- Santhosh Rao, who was acquitted by a CBI special court in 2023
- Fresh-probe deadline
- Three months for a compliance report
- Investigation restriction
- Officers involved in the earlier investigations must be excluded
