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Chapter Fifty-Eight: Dharmasthala - Where Justice Remains a Dream
The morning after the "special hugs" incident, the group gathered for breakfast still giggling about Keiran's interrogation.
But Shreya was quiet. Unusually quiet.
Akshi noticed first. "Hey. What's wrong?"
Shreya looked up, her usual brightness dimmed. "Today we're going to Dharmasthala. And there's something I need to tell everyone. Something important."
---
She gathered them after breakfast.
The garden was peaceful, but Shreya's face was anything but. Mithun stood beside her, his calm presence a anchor.
Shreya took a deep breath. "Dharmasthala is a beautiful place. A famous temple town. Very peaceful. Very spiritual." She paused. "But it's also where something horrible happened. Something that still haunts Karnataka."
Percy leaned forward. "What happened?"
"In 2012. October 9th. A girl named Soujanya." Shreya's voice was steady, but her eyes glistened. "She was seventeen years old. A second-year pre-university student at SDM College in Ujire. She was coming home from college."
Mithun continued quietly. "She got off the bus near the Netravathi river bank around 4:15 PM. Her uncle saw her there. She waved at him. That was the last time anyone saw her alive."
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The group was completely still.
"When she didn't come home by evening, her family searched. They searched all night in the heavy rain. The next morning, they found her." Shreya's voice cracked. "In the jungle. Across a stream. Her hands were tied to a tree with her own shawl. She had been raped. And then murdered."
Keiran, too young to understand, snuggled closer to Jay. Jay held him tight.
"The post-mortem revealed the brutality," Mithun said. "There were more than fourteen injury marks on her body. A deep wound in her private part. And something else—whoever did this tried to destroy the evidence. They filled her lower body with mud."
Honey gasped. Bridget covered her mouth. Several people looked away.
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Shreya continued. "The police arrested a man named Santosh Rao. But here's the thing—he wasn't caught by police. Local people caught him, beat him up, and handed him over. There was no evidence connecting him to the crime."
C.N. frowned. "No evidence?"
"None. The forensic tests showed nothing. His nails had no trace of her skin or blood. The soil on his clothes didn't match the crime scene. The DNA didn't match. Everything pointed to one thing—he was the wrong man."
Aries spoke quietly. "Then why was he arrested?"
"Because someone had to be," Akshi said bitterly. "The public was angry. The media was watching. They needed a suspect. So they took this young man and threw him in jail for eleven years."
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Felix asked, "Eleven years?"
"Eleven years," Shreya confirmed. "He spent eleven years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. And in 2023, the court finally acquitted him. The judge said the investigation was completely botched. Evidence was ignored. Procedures were violated. The real culprits were never found."
David's voice was rough. "So the real killer is still out there?"
"Yes." Shreya looked at them. "The forensic experts said something else too. Based on the evidence, this wasn't the work of one person. It was multiple people. Three or four. A gang rape. But police never investigated that angle."
Mica whispered, "That's horrific."
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Jay found her voice. "What happened to the investigation?"
"It was a disaster from the start," Mithun said. "The doctor who did the autopsy collected samples wrong—destroyed the evidence. Police didn't collect CCTV footage that could have shown something. They didn't take fingerprints or footprints from the crime scene. They lost the victim's undergarments. The list goes on."
"The court ordered action against the erring officials," Shreya added. "But nothing happened. Some were promoted. Some transferred. No accountability."
Akshi's voice shook with anger. "And her mother—Kusumavathi—has been fighting for thirteen years. Thirteen years, and still no justice. Her husband, Soujanya's father, died recently. He never saw justice for his daughter."
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The silence that followed was heavy.
Percy, for once, had no words. Honey held his hand tightly.
C.N. stared at the ground. Rakii's camera hung unused at her side.
Felix wrapped an arm around Bridget. Mica leaned into Calix.
Grace shifted Grazel in her arms, holding her daughter closer.
Jay felt tears streaming down her face. Keifer pulled her close.
Keiran looked up. "Mamma, why you crying?"
"Because something very bad happened, baby. To a girl not much older than Keigan. And the people who did it were never punished."
"That's not fair."
"No, baby. It's not."
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Shreya wiped her eyes. "I tell you this because you're going to Dharmasthala. Because when you see the temple, the river, the peaceful forests—you need to know what happened there. You need to know her name."
"Soujanya," C.N. said quietly. "We'll remember."
"Her mother still lives there. Still fights. Still waits." Shreya looked at them. "There are posters all along the road to her house—arrows pointing the way, with Soujanya's picture. So anyone who wants to help can find them. She's been waiting thirteen years for someone to care."
Mithun added, "The sweeper at the temple later made allegations about mass burials. He said if he hadn't been on leave when Soujanya was killed, her body would have been buried too. Hidden forever. No one would have ever known."
The horror in the group was palpable.
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They went to Dharmasthala that day.
The temple was beautiful. The river peaceful. The forest lush and green.
But now they saw it differently. Now they knew what happened here.
They found the spot near the river. Across the stream. Where a seventeen-year-old girl was tied to a tree and left.
They stood in silence.
Shreya lit a small lamp. "For Soujanya. For her mother. For justice that should have come."
The lamp floated away on the water.
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Jay stood apart with Keifer, Keiran between them.
"I can't stop thinking about her mother," Jay whispered. "Thirteen years. Knowing her daughter suffered. Knowing the real killers are out there. Knowing the system failed."
Keifer's voice was rough. "And the man who spent eleven years in prison for something he didn't do. His life destroyed too."
"Two victims. One crime."
"More than two. Her whole family. His whole family. Everyone who loved them."
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Keiran tugged Jay's sleeve. "Mamma, the lady—her name was Soujanya?"
"Yes, baby."
"We can pray for her. Right? Rex says we can pray."
Jay knelt beside him. "Yes, baby. We can pray."
Keiran closed his eyes tight. "Dear God, please take care of Soujanya. And please help her mamma. And please make the bad people get caught. Amen."
Rex, held up, seemed to nod.
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They rejoined the group near the river.
Percy spoke. "We can't fix this. We can't give her justice. But we can remember. We can tell her story."
Honey nodded. "When we go home, people will know her name."
C.N. added, "Her mother is still fighting. Maybe knowing people care—people from across the world—maybe that helps a little."
Shreya smiled through tears. "It helps. Knowing her daughter isn't forgotten. That matters."
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Before they left, Akshi had an idea.
"We should write something. All of us. For her mother."
They found paper and pen. Each person wrote a message.
We remember Soujanya.
We stand with you.
Her name lives on.
Justice will come.
Seventeen messages. Seventeen voices.
Shreya promised to deliver them to Kusumavathi.
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That night, no one joked about special hugs.
They sat together quietly, processing what they'd learned.
Keiran fell asleep on Jay's lap. Ganesha and Rex guarded him.
Jay looked at Keifer. "We have to do better. All of us. For girls like Soujanya."
"We will." He kissed her forehead. "We'll teach our sons. We'll raise them to respect women. To protect, not harm."
"Promise?"
"Promise. Until the end of the universe."
She leaned into him.
The river flowed on.
Somewhere in Dharmasthala, a mother kept vigil.
And seventeen people carried a girl's name with them.
Soujanya.
Never forgotten.
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End of Chapter Fifty-Eight