Opposition Corners J&K Govt Over Rape and Murder of a Minor in Kathua

Srinagar: Opposition parties stepped up the heat on the PDP-BJP government in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly over the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua district.

Members of Congress and National Conference stormed the well of the house and questioned Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’s continued silence on the incident. The parties also accused the state government of trying to cover up the episode.

Senior Congress legislator Usman Majid demanded the transfer of police officials, who delayed investigations, out of Hiranagar, as they could further hamper proceedings.

After much uproar in the state assembly, the state government was forced to institute a magisterial inquiry and appoint a special investigation team headed by a SDPO.

PDP senior minister Abdul Rehman Veeri told the assembly on Friday that a 15-year-old has been arrested in the case and he had confessed to his crime. Veeri said the accused admitted to defacing the girl after keeping her captive in a cowshed and then dumping her body on a bushy roadside.

After relentless pressure from opposition parties, Veeri on Saturday reiterated that the government was committed to bringing the culprits to book and even ordered the suspension of SHO Hiranagar, among other officials.

Parents and villagers of the girl had alleged that police did not conduct any searches on the first day of the disappearance of the girl. They blamed the police for inaction and taking it slow in the case.

“Had the police been efficient in their job, this shameless incident would have never happened,” NC MLA Main Altaf told News18.

Altaf further said that the government story of arresting a 15-year-old boy and passing him off as the sole accused was not cutting ice. He alleged prima facie the investigation had many holes.

“How can a 15-year-old boy hold a girl captive for seven days and then dump her on a roadside without help from anyone else. This is unacceptable and unbelievable. There are many others who are involved in the crime and villagers have dropped enough hints about who they are. Police have only procrastinated,” he alleged.

Congress leader Usman Majid alleged that the government was complicit with influential people in trying to shield the culprits involved.

“Justice cannot be delivered to the poor family unless the case is properly investigated and free of any political pressure,” Majid said, adding that certain forces did not want the truth to come out.

Opposition leaders also said that the delay in the post-mortem report was shameful. “The chief minister being a woman should have taken personal interest and sped up the probe,” said a legislator.

“The cries of the girl were heard by neighbours. Why was there such a delay by police?” he asked.

The minor girl was abducted on January 10 and there have been questions raised over why the police did not conduct searches inside the small village where she was kept.

In the assembly, BJP MLA for Kathua constituency Rajeev Jasrotia stood up from his chair and pointed towards the opposition saying, “You are playing politics on the basis of religion and you want to communalise the issue.”

The MLA's remarks triggered protests in the House even as Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Abdul Rehman Veeri and Minister for Relief and Rehabilitation Javid Mustafa Mir tried to handle the situation. They even advised Jasrotia to not make such statements.

Legislators, amid protests, alleged that police officials including the SHO and DSP wanted to hush up the case.

“How can a 15-year-old kill and manage to dump the body without anyone noticing by moving the girl from the cowshed, which is nearly three kilometres away from where the spot where she was found,” the legislators quizzed while demanding the SHO and DSP’s suspension, among other police officials.

“Ladki ko insaaf do aur kaatil ko phansi do (Give the girl justice and hang the culprits),” the legislators shouted, before storming the well of the house.

PDP leader Abdul Veeri intervened to tell opposition leaders that till further inquiry, the SHO has been suspended. “No one will be spared and action will be initiated against all those involved in the incident,” he said.