Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru

Mangaluru, Oct 4: In a significant development in the Sowjanya rape and murder case, a fresh investigation has begun under the leadership of an IPS-rank officer for the first time.

SIT chief N Shashikumar has appointed senior IPS officer and former CID SP Lokesh Jagalsar as the investigating officer. Mangaluru CCB ACP Manoj Kumar Naik has been named assistant investigating officer.

Jagalsar has previously served as SP in Bagalkot and Dharwad districts and as DCP in Bengaluru City. An engineering graduate, he is expected to bring his expertise in technical investigation to the high-profile case.

Police sources said Jagalsar had also played a key role in the investigation of multi-crore robbery cases in Bengaluru.

The SIT has already been strengthened with 16 police officers and personnel appointed as investigation assistants for the fresh probe. Officers and personnel from various units, including CCB ACP Manoj Kumar Naik, have joined the team.

The Supreme Court ordered a reinvestigation into the case on September 21. Acting on the order, the state government constituted a five-member SIT on September 24.

IGP N Shashikumar was appointed SIT chief, while Mangaluru city police commissioner C H Sudheer Kumar Reddy along with other police officers Nisha James, Lokesh Jagalsar and Venkatesh Prasanna were named members. Venkatesh Prasanna has since written to the department seeking to be relieved from the team.

The SIT officially began work in Mangaluru earlier this week, setting up a separate office on the premises of the old deputy commissioner’s office.

At its first meeting, the team decided to scrutinise records and evidence from the earlier CID and CBI investigations, along with other aspects of the case, before drawing up a strategy for the next phase of the probe.

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