The Crime Branch of the Jammu and Kashmir Police probing the alleged rape and murder of a minor girl today filed a charge sheet against seven of the eight accused in the case at a court in Kathua, amid protest by local lawyers.
“The charge sheet against seven of the eight accused in the rape and murder of the eight-year-old girl was filed in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kathua,” a senior police officer told PTI.
Accompanied by the accused, a team of crime branch faced stiff resistance from the members of Kathua Bar Association who chanted “go back crime branch” slogans during filing of the charge sheet.
“The charge sheet has been filed against seven of the eight accused, while a separate charge sheet is being filed against the other shortly,” the officer said, declining to comment on the protest by the lawyers.
However, the Kathua bar association claimed that the crime branch was compelled to leave the premises without filing the charge sheet.
The body of the girl, from the Bakherwal community, was recovered from Rassana forest on January 17, a week after she went missing while grazing horses in the forest area.
On January 23, the government had handed over the case to the crime branch of the state police which formed a Special Investigation Team and arrested eight persons including two Special Police Officers (SPOs) and a head constable, who was charged with destruction of evidence.
Among the accused, former revenue official and the alleged conspirator, Sanji Ram (60), surrendered before the crime branch on March 20 after his son, Vishal, was arrested from Uttar Pradesh.
The crime branch is submitting the separate charge sheet against one of the arrested persons, who was earlier said to be a juvenile but after a medical examination at the government medical college here on March 7 was found to over 19 years old. The medical board, comprising senior doctors, examined the accused and gave its report after conducting his physical, dental and radiological examination.
“All the members of the Bar have strongly agitated against the presentation of challan (charge sheet) by the crime branch in the Rassana case… the agitation of the bar proved successful and the crime branch was compelled to go back and the challan could not be presented in the court of chief judicial magistrate Kathua,” president of Kathua Bar Association, Kirty Bhushan Mahajan, said in a statement.
He said the Bar is already on strike against the investigation of the case by crime branch and strongly favours a CBI inquiry into the incident.
“All the Bar members strongly condemned the conduct of the crime branch in dealing the issue. The state government has failed to deal the issue or understand the sentiments of the people. The agitation of the bar shall continue and the bar has unanimously decided to keep the work under suspension till April 12,” he said.
PTI
