While the Delhi rape case in December 2012 and the Mumbai gang
rape of a photo journalist in August this year ignited widespread reactions from
civil society and a quick course of action from the government, the
investigation of a similar and equally brutal rape and murder case that took
place in Dharmasthala of Karnataka a year ago is unfortunately being sabotaged.
Sowjanya, a class 12 student of Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara (SDM) College
was raped and murdered in the world famous temple town of Dharmasthala, about 80
kilometres away from Mangalore, on October 9, 2012. Attempts have been made to
hush up the case, as the culprits are alleged to be closely associated to the Shri
Kshetra Dharmasthala management, which includes the religious head D. Veerendra
Heggade’s nephew Nischal Jain. Unfortunately, the media in the region has woken
up far too late, most of them out of pressure rather than pro-activism. But,
better late than never! The case is now turning out to be a major embarrassment
for the Dharmasthala temple management and the State government as well, what
with a series of public protests and rallies taking place on a daily basis demanding
thorough investigation.
Sowjanya – the victim
Sowjanya went missing on the evening of October 9, 2012. Her
body was found in a mutilated state on the following day morning. The
post-mortem reports confirmed that she was gang-raped. Thereafter, the police
arrested Santhosh Kumar who is said to be mentally unstable and found roaming
in the area. It is alleged by the family members and many others that Santhosh
Kumar has been unjustly victimised and planted as a proxy for the real culprits
who are out there roaming freely. The media a year ago never went behind the
case and forgot the incident within a few days. Added to that, the Delhi rape
case of December 2012 took all the attention away from an equally important
case like this. Fortunately, the never-give-up attitude of the family members of
the victim and the support of social activists did not allow the case to die
down. Now, more details are coming out. With pressure mounting and protests
rising by the day, the Karnataka State government has finally, after much delay
and reluctance, decided to hand over the case to the Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI). Hopefully, justice will be done to the deceased victim.
What was very unfortunate about the entire episode in the
last one year is the lacklustre response of the local media. Not a single
newspaper or television channel tried hard to go dig deeper or simply did not
muster enough courage. It is only this October, after one year of the incident
that TV 9, a Kannada news channel,
has gone all out to expose the skeletons in the closets of the Dharmasthala
fiefdom. While one can debate as to the actual intentions behind the channel’s ‘activism’
now a year after, at least its campaign is having a ripple effect, even as its
activism borders media trial. A series of reportage and panel discussions were
held by the channel for days together. Interestingly, on October 12, 2013 when
the channel was broadcasting investigative features and holding live panel
discussions with Sowjanya’s parents and other activists, the cable transmission
mysteriously failed and there was unannounced load shedding in and around
Dharmasthala for greater part of the day. The channel claims that this was
orchestrated deliberately and it showed that the impact of the coverage had
made a dent with the powers-that-be trying to willy-nilly stop the damage. With
this, other channels and newspapers could not be silent. The activism
snowballed into a well organised campaign. Various organisations took out
processions in Dharmasthala, Mangalore and other places, some supporting the
Dharmasthala establishment, but most demanding justice for Sowjanya.
Those actively involved in protests such as the Seer of Kemar
Math, Sri Esha Vittaladas Swamiji and social activist and leader of Belthangady
Prajaprabhutva Vedike, Mahesh Shetty Timarodi, have reasons to believe that the
management of Dharmasthala temple and the close relatives of D. Veerendra Heggade,
the religious head of Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara Temple, have links to the
case. According to Mr Mahesh Shetty, in the last decade or so over 400
unnatural death cases have been reported in and around Dharmasthala, the
veracity of which has been ascertained through an RTI application. He alleges
that most of these deaths occurred owing to land maphia of several people
associated with the temple management. He also alleges that the temple
administration has occupied large swathes of land in the area and it is near
impossible to own a piece of land without the consent of the temple management.
Mr Shetty, whose organisation has been involved closely with such issues, holds
that the temple management in general and Veerendra Heggade in particular are
very powerful not just in the area but nationally as well, and no one dares
question them. Mr Heggade’s brother D. Harshendra Heggade, according to Mr
Shetty, looks into property matters and has illegal land dealings. Incidentally,
his son Nishchal Jain has been accused in the rape and murder of Sowjanya. What
is indeed shocking is the fact that the police have refused to even question
the four suspected – Nischal Jain, Dheeraj Kella, Mallik Jain and Uday Jain –
mentioned in the FIR filed by the family members of Sowjanya. The family
members and activists allege that all evidences related to the case have been
destroyed systematically. For example, a TV 9 visual showed that there was a piece of paper with some phone
numbers on it found near the body. However, there is no mention of it in the
charge sheet filed by the police to the court. The charge sheet also has
several contradictions as to the arrest of Santhosh Kumar. Experts in the panel
discussion on TV 9 further suggested
that the post mortem report of the victim is a farce, as it does not mention
anything important that could lead to further investigation. According to them,
all this has been done deliberately by the powers-that-be in collusion with the
police to subvert the investigation.
Palpable caution by
media
Even as TV 9 has
been vociferously going after the case, one cannot miss the palpable caution
and restrain by media in general in the region. No newspaper or TV channel,
barring TV 9, seems to take a chance.
Hence, the newspapers are only giving some space to report protests and press
conferences and are refusing to go beyond. Care is taken to see that the
opposite view (read, the temple administration!) is given due space whenever
activists and protest groups point fingers. While there have been many such
reports appearing, there has never been a single editorial or op-ed article written
analysing the issue in prominent newspapers in the region, including the widely
circulated Kannada daily, Udayavani. The
reasons are there for anyone to see: D. Veerendra Heggade and the Dharmasthala
administration have never had a history of being put under the scanner. It
seems that they are too big an institution to even be questioned, let alone
probed! Though Sowjanya studied in a college run by the temple administration, no
concerted efforts were made by the administration to press for deeper
investigation. Mr Heggade, in fact, never visited the victim’s family. But, now
when fingers are directly pointed at him, he is mobilising large scale sympathy
for himself and the temple administration, stating that ‘those against us are
trying to malign the name of Dharmasthala’.
As regards media’s role in the entire campaign, the
developments have clearly shown that the on-going media campaign is bearing
fruits, though unintended. Channels like TV
9 have a history of making hay while the sun shines. In Sowjanya’s case,
though, the channel has to be commended for at least daring to probe against
all odds. Its extensive reportage, coupled with the subsequent public protests,
has made the ‘establishment’ jittery and run for cover. One only hopes this
‘activism’ will continue until the truth is uncovered and justice is done.
- Melwyn Pinto SJ
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