Bengaluru, Oct 30 The Karnataka government on Friday appointed IGP Chetan Singh Rathore to head the SIT probing the alleged rape and murder of a 17-year-old girl on the outskirts of Dharmasthala in 2012, replacing IGP N Shashikumar.
According to a revised government order issued on October 30, Rathore will replace Shashikumar as the head of the team.
The government has replaced Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Venkatesh Prasanna, a member of the SIT, with ASP Srinidhi of Hassan district as well.
According to sources, Shashikumar had written to the state government seeking to be relieved of his responsibility as Special Investigation Team head, citing personal reasons.
The Karnataka government constituted the SIT on September 24 to conduct a fresh investigation into the case following a direction from the Supreme Court.
The team also comprises Mangaluru City Police Commissioner C H Sudhir Kumar Reddy, Nisha James, Superintendent of Police, State Intelligence, Bengaluru, and Lokesh Jagalasar, Superintendent of Police, CID, Bengaluru.
According to the September 24 government order, the SIT, which functions under the supervision of the Director General and Inspector General of Police, Karnataka, is required to complete a comprehensive investigation within three months and submit its final report to the competent court.
The DGP and IGP will submit a report to the state government after completion of the investigation, the order had stated.
(PTI News)
