Pic: Dayanand Kukkaje
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (ANK)
Mangaluru, Feb 16: Following allegations by parents of Sowjanya, who was allegedly raped and murdered in October 2012, that the police had not interrogated three persons whose names they had submitted as suspects in the case, the threesome - Mallik Jain, Dheeraj Jain and Uday Jain on Thursday February 16 denied the allegations and said that althought they had undergone every test conducted by the CBI and the police, they were ready for another round of tests to prove their innocence.
Addressing a press meet here, Mallik Jain said, "The 50th additional sessions court (CBI special court) in November 2016 had summoned us (including Uday Jain and Dheeraj Jain) to appear before it to face trial in the case. The CBI and the police have interrogated us in every possible way and we have undergone every test conducted by the CBI. The allegation made by Sowjanya's parents is totally false."
Dheeraj Jain said, "We still do not know how the three of us are connected to this case. We have undergone DNA test, blood test, brain mapping, lie detector and also all our call details have been cross-checked. Our names were first heard after one year of the incident. In the year March 2015, we underwent the tests at Chennai and Bengaluru as per the procedure of the court. The court also ordered that we are not required for further investigation. But in November 2016, the CBI special court summoned the three of us to appear before it to face trial in the case, saying that we are the accused in the case. We had to then move the high court to obtain stay on this as we are not involved in the murder but we have still been labelled as accused.
"If the Sowjanya's parents are not satisfied with the earlier report, we are ready for further probe and will undergo all the tests from the beginning. We are not affiliated to any political party, and unneccessarily our names are dragged into the case," he said.
"I was working in the temple administration and I used to take rounds of Bahubali hillock to ensure that no one was found roaming around in the premises before it closes. Santhosh was found lingering suspiciously at the hillock and he ran away when he saw us. Noticing that, the locals caught him and handed him over to the police. The locals themselves linked him to Sowjanya murder case. We were not involved in any political activities or in any kind of disputes with any persons or organisations. Even we want Sowjanya's parents to get justice and real culprits be nabbed," he added.
Uday Jain said, "I am a rickshaw driver and I did not know Dheeraj Jain and Mallik Jain before. Inclusion of my name in the case came as a shock for me. None of us knew Sowjanya or her family members."