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India must ensure that perpetrators of the horrific Kathua rape are brought to justice, says UN

United Nations has said that the Indian authorities should ensure that the perpetrators of the “horrific” Kathua rape and murder case in Kashmir should be brought to justice.

The Spokesperson of the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Friday that he has seen reports about the “horrific case” of the abuse and murder of the nomadic Bakerwal community girl.

“We very much hope that the authorities will bring the perpetrators to justice so they can be held accountable for the murder of this young girl,” he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday condemned the rape and gave an assurance that justice would be done.

On Friday, the two BJP ministers, Choudhary Lal Singh and Chander Prakash Ganga, who had rallied in support of the accused in Kathua rape resigned from the Jammu and Kashmir cabinet.

Earlier, the BJP had said that both the ministers were ‘misled and misguided by a few people.’

Is it a crime to get misled?” she asked, adding that the people get misled and this can happen with anyone.

The main opposition party National Conference had said that they will consider a civil disobedience movement against the government if they fail to take action against the ‘erring ministers’.

Former chief minister Omar Abdullah also told CM Mehbooba Mufti to sack the two ministers the way she sacked former Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu.

Ganga, the Industries Minister, earlier had said that he was satisfied with the investigation of the Crime Branch and the culprits involved in the rape and murder case of the minor girl should be hanged.

Lawyers in Kathua recently 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 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.

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.

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