JAMMU: The station house officer (SHO) of Hiranagar police station was suspended on Saturday after protests by the opposition rocked the Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly, demanding justice for the minor who was allegedly raped and murdered in Kathua last week.
On January 12, the eight-year-old girl was abducted from her home in Kathua's Rasana village. Her brutalised body was recovered from a forest about three kilometres away from her residence on January 17. Cops arrested a 15-year-old who confessed taking her in a cowshed, raping and later murdering her, police said. The autopsy report is awaited.
Soon after the House proceedings began,
Congress legislator Usman Majeed raised the issue, alleging that police negligence was responsible for the minor's death and demanded the suspension of the errant cops. "The girl was kept in a cowshed in the middle of the village. How could cops not locate her for six days and how did the 15-year-old do all this alone?" asked Majeed.
While Majeed was speaking,
BJP MLA from Kathua, Rajiv Jasrotia, said the opposition was trying to divide people on the basis of region and religion. The remark added fuel to the fire and opposition members stormed into the Well of the House, raising slogans like, "Ladli beti ko insaaf do (justice for our daughter)", "BJP hai hai (down with the BJP)" and "Qatilon ko phansi do (hang the killers)". Legislators alleged that police — including the SHO and
DSP — wanted to hush up the case.
National Conference (NC) legislator
Altaf Kaloo questioned the police inaction even after seven days of the abduction and the filing of a missing complaint by her family, while NC MLA Ali Mohammad Sagar said, "We aren't communalising the issue, which is not political but humane. We only want the suspension of the cops to ensure a fair investigation and justice for the victim."
Law and parliamentary affairs minister
Abdul Rahman Veeri tried to pacify the agitating MLAs, saying no culprit would be spared, but the protestors said they won't allow the House to run until the errant cops are suspended. Order was finally restored after the minister for disaster management, Javed Mustafa Mir, announced the suspension of Hiranagar SHO.
