Protests continues in Hiranagar for CBI probe

JAMMU : The hunger strike of the women of the area including kin of the accused, seeking impartial probe by CBI in the Kathua rape and murder case continues in Kootah village in Hiranagar sub-division of Kathua district.

The women are sitting on a hunger strike for around one month under a banyan tree in Kootah village.

Whenever the condition of a protesting woman deteriorates, she gets swapped by another woman.

One of the woman sitting on fast said, "We have been pleading for almost three months now that whosoever carried out such a heinous crime on the a minor should be punished but what kind of justice would that be if innocents are framed for the crime which they never committed.”

"Throughout the country, our image has been portrayed as that of defending the accused, which is totally unfounded. On the very first day of trial, all the accused themselves volunteered for a narco test. They (accused) were being framed as part of a bigger conspiracy,” she added.

The women vowed to continue their protest until the time their demand for a CBI inquiry was accepted.

The girl’s body was recovered from Rassana forest in Kathua on January 17, a week after she went missing.

Last week, crime branch investigating the case has a filed chargesheet against eight persons including a juvenile for their alleged role in the rape and murder of the eight-year-old tribal girl.