Kathua girl murder: Union minister Jitendra Singh for talks with agitators demanding CBI probe

JAMMU: Union minister Jitendra Singh today expressed concern over the cane charging on the people seeking CBI probe into alleged rape and murder of a minor girl in Kathua district last week and favoured dialogue with agitators to address their concerns.

Police used batons on Hindu Ekta Manch activists after they violated prohibitory orders and organised a rally in Kathua district on Thursday in support of their demand for a CBI probe into the alleged rape and murder of a minor girl.

"We support a fair probe (into the rape and murder of the girl) so that the guilty is punished. However, those who have not done anything wrong should be given justice as well. The probe must be fair and satisfy everyone," he said at a rally here.

The rally was organised by the BJP to mark completion of its three-year rule in coalition with PDP in the state.

"Whatever be the issue, I want to make an appeal to the administration and the society that if an agitation becomes violent due to any reason, we need not carry it forward, but sit across to reach out an amicable solution," the union minister said.

He said there is no issue which cannot be resolved through dialogue.

"They are our own people who were lathicharged resulting in injuries to 100 persons, one of whom, Vijay Kumar, was admitted in a hospital in Ludhiana (Punjab),” he said, adding “we have to take care of our youth".

  BJP National vice president Avinash Rai Khanna, on the sidelines of the rally, favoured CBI probe and said the government should take a decision keeping in view the demand of the people so that they feel justice was done with them.

The eight-year-old girl's body was recovered from the Rassana forest on January 17, a week after she went missing while grazing horses in Kathua district.

On January 23, six days after the minor girls body was recovered, the Jammu and Kashmir government had handed over the case to the crime branch of the state police.