Mehbooba Mufti writes to Jammu and Kashmir HC to set up fast track court for hearing Kathua rape case

Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti wrote to the chief justice of the Jammu and Kashmir high court on Saturday, requesting setting up of a special fast track court to try the gang rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua, people in the home department familiar with the development said.

It would complete trial in 90 days and would be the first such court in state, they said.

The state government also decided to terminate from service the policemen accused in the case.

According to the charge sheet, special police officers (SPO) Deepak Khajuria and Surender Verma, head constable Tilak Raj and sub-inspector Anand Dutta were involved in the ghastly crime.

Mehbooba Mufti also took to Twitter to hail the people of Jammu for outrightly rejecting “communal forces” and for their unwavering support for the eight-year-old.

I commend the manner in which the people of Jammu dismissed communal forces & were unwavering in their support for a little girl. It has strengthened my belief that Jammu serves as a model of inclusiveness & together the people of J&K inspire secular unity & righteousness.

— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) April 14, 2018

In an earlier tweet she also said it was heartening to see the Supreme Court pull up the Jammu bar association for obstructing justice in the rape and murder case.

“Heartening to see the Supreme Court take cognisance of the attempted obstruction of justice by some lawyers in the brutal Kathua rape & murder case reminding us once again of the greatness of this nation,” she wrote.

On Friday the Supreme Court took a serious note of lawyers of the Jammu bar association obstructing the judicial process in the case and initiated a case on its own accord saying such impeding of the process of law “affects the delivery of justice”.

The rape and killing of the girl, who belonged to the nomadic Bakerwal Muslim community, has become a national issue. The gory details of the heinous crime surfaced following filing of charges.

The girl had disappeared from a spot near her house close to Rasana village on January 10. A week later, her body was found in the same area.

A special investigation team, formed to probe the incident, has arrested eight people, including two special police officers (SPOs) and a head constable, who was charged with destroying evidence.

(With PTI inputs)