The rape and murder of the 8-year old Muslim Kathua girl was given a ‘communal twist’ by a Hindu outfit and lawyers , Jammu based politicians rallied in support of the accused. In a bid to check further polarization, the Jammu and Kashmir police have sought appointment of two Sikh police officers as special prosecuting officers in the case, reported the Indian Express.
The J&K Police, sources said, want the Crime Branch case to be represented by Bhupinder Singh and Harminder Singh. While Bhupinder Singh is Chief Prosecuting Officer in the J&K Police prosecution wing, Harminder Singh is Chief Prosecuting Officer, Samba.
Director General of Police S P Vaid has already written to the Principal Secretary (Home) in this connection. “Yes, I have written to the Home department,’’ Vaid told The Indian Express. “For me, they are police officers whose profession, and not religious identity, is important. In fact, the people who were opposing the Crime Branch investigation into the case were also trying to raise accusations against our team. I gave them the same answer.”
Sources said the police “want to have prosecuting officers from their own ranks” but from a “neutral faith” to avoid further communal division.
“So much communal politics has been played in Jammu over this case that the entire atmosphere is polluted. Those who are campaigning in favour of the accused have been questioning the Crime Branch probe only on communal grounds,’’ a police officer said.
Lawyers in Kathua on Monday tried to prevent the Crime Branch to file the chargesheet in the rape and murder case of the an eight year old girl. However the police, after calling reinforcements filed the chargesheet.
The Jammu and Kashmir police have registered a case against the lawyers for obstructing Crime Branch from filing charge sheet in Kathua rape and murder case at the Court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Kathua, on Tuesday.
Mehbooba Mufti, after the protest and the strike call given the Jammu Bar Association said that law won’t be obstructed due to the actions or statements of a group of people.
Nine accused, including the alleged mastermind Sanji Ram – an ex-bureaucrat – and his son vishal Kumar, a police head constable, two SPOs and a sub-inspector of police, have been arrested in the case.
Recently, the DNA report suggested that the eight year old Kathua girl was being held captive in a temple.
Nine accused, including the alleged mastermind Sanji Ram – an ex-bureaucrat – and his son vishal Kumar, a police head constable, two SPOs and a sub-inspector of police, have been arrested in the case.
Ram surrendered before the police on March 20. His surrender came after the arrest of his son Vishal – a BSc Agriculture student -from Meerut area of Uttar Pradesh.
Ram, said to be linked with the Hindu Ekta Manch, allegedly motivated special police officer Deepak Khajuria to kidnap, rape and murder the eight-year-old victim with the intention of driving out nomadic families of Muslim origin from Jammu’s Rasana village.
Earlier, it came to fore that how the police had initially botched up the probe by destroying crucial evidence.
On January 17, body of minor girl was found in the forests near Rasana, Hiranagar. The girl had been missing for a week. According to police, she had been abducted and raped by an SPO Deepak Khajuria, who was a part of the team sent out find her when she was missing.
The investigation of the Crime Branch further revealed that she had been drugged so that she couldn’t cry for help.
