14 years and an acquittal later, SC orders fresh probe in 2012 Karnataka rape-murder case

Almost 14 years after a brutal rape and murder of a 17-year-old girl in Karnataka ended in the acquittal of the lone accused, the Supreme Court on Monday directed a special investigation team (SIT) to re-investigate the matter and submit a report within three months.

Allowing the appeal filed by the victim’s parent seeking an independent probe into the 2012 incident while pointing out lapses in the investigation by the Karnataka police, the court said that the police investigation “shocked” its conscience as the person named as accused was held to be “incapable” of committing the offence.

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What happened in court

A bench of justices Sanjay Kumar and Sanjeev Sachdeva said, “In a case where a minor girl of 17 years of age is brutally raped and murdered, the manner in which the investigation had progressed and the manner in which the various investigating agencies conducted the investigation and gathered and evaluated the evidence shocks the very conscience of the court.”

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Ordering the constitution of an SIT headed by a senior police officer well conversant with modern investigative technology, the court prohibited any officer who was part of the earlier investigation team from being associated with the fresh SIT probe.

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Brutal rape and murder case

The incident took place on October 9, 2012, when she was returning home from school. When she failed to return home, her parents lodged a missing case and her body was discovered the next day from thick bushes near the town. The post-mortem examination revealed sexual assault.