Union Minister VK Singh (File Photo)
The outrage over the gang-rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua has invoked a call for justice from Minister of State of External Affair VK Singh. The former Indian Army chief took to Twitter to express his anguish over the incident and said that justice will be done.
We have failed Ashifa as humans. But she will not be denied justice.#PunishTheSavages #RapeAndMurderOfHumanity #Kathua #JusticeForAshifa #GenerallySaying pic.twitter.com/yQPUU0JDW4
— Vijay Kumar Singh (@Gen_VKSingh) April 12, 2018
"We have failed Ashifa as humans. But she will not be denied justice," VK Singh said. Singh is perhaps the first BJP leader who has come out in the open expressing grief over the horrific incident.
The child from the nomadic Bakerwal Muslim community had disappeared from near her home in the forests next to Rasana village in Kathua on January 10. A week later, her body was found in the same area.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed to probe the incident has arrested eight people, including two Special Police Officers (SPOs) and a head constable, who was charged with destruction of evidence.
Also Read: Kathua rape-murder case: #JusticeforAsifa takes Twitter by storm as chargesheet gives chilling details
A chargesheet filed by the Jammu and Kashmir Police said abduction, rape and killing of the girl was part of a carefully planned strategy to remove the minority community from the area.
The rape has polarised the state with the local bar association calling for a bandh against what it termed the "targeting of minority Dogras", while the Valley saw protests demanding justice for the deceased.