Protesters press for CBI probe as total bandh observed in Kathua
SHUTDOWN Due to tardy pace of probe, various outfits, NGOs and local residents stage sitin
The Young Bar Association Kathua and various other groups observed a complete shutdown in Kathua on Saturday, to press their demand of CBI probe into the alleged rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl from Rassana village.
Various groups staged a sit-in while businesses remained shut in Kathua town. People in groups had visited various markets in the town last evening to solicit support for the bandh.
The association also endorsed its support to Hindu Ekta Manch, a non-government organisation backed by the BJP, which has been spearheading the agitation seeking CBI investigations into the case.
Addressing the activists in Kathua, the Young Bar Association president advocate Anil Singh Andotra questioned why the government are not handing over the case to CBI if the crime branch investigations are not satisfactory.
Advocate Rakesh Thakur also said the bar association will be compelled to intensify its agitation if the government failed to concede people’s demand.
Hindu Ekta Manch president advocate Vijay Sharma said, “We have lost faith in the crime branch investigation as politics is being played under the garb of probe. "Sharma alleged that the investigators were harassing a particular community.
Most of the shops and business establishments remained shut in the town along the Jammu-Pathankot highway. Authorities, however, claimed that educational institutions and transport facilities functioned normally.
The protesters have alleged harassment by the crime branch officials investigating the case of the minor girl, whose body was recovered from a forest of Rassana village on January 17, a week after she had gone missing in the area. HTC