Kin of accused reiterate demand for CBI inquiry
◗ Four local women, including the spouse of one of the alleged ‘ plotter’ Sanji Ram, are on ‘ fast- unto- death’
The protest dharna by relatives, neighbours and friends of the Kathua gangrape and murder accused entered into 20th day on Thursday.
The participants have pledged to continue to provoke feelings of “guilt” in the government and others and reiterated their demand that the incident should be probed by the CBI.
Four local women, including the spouse of one the alleged “plotter”, Sanji Ram, are on “fastuntodeath” and the police officials said that if the situation demands they will invoke the relevant section of the Ranbir Penal Code to remove them forcibly. They said that “fast- unto- death” tantamount to committing suicide and a person who does it or abets the commission of it is liable to be punished with simple imprisonment for a term, which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.
“Who cares?” said one of the ladies. “What is left there that we should be afraid of,” she asked. “We will do all that’s within our reach to stir up the guilt of the people in government and political parties,” another participant vowed.
The “guilt”, he said, is “our dear ones have been framed and the entire Hindu community of Rasana is being condemned for no fault of it.”
An 8- year- old nomadic Bakarwal ( herdsmen) girl went missing while grazing horses in Rasana village of Hiranagar tehsil in Kathua district in the second week of January this year. About a week later, her battered corpse was found lying in woods.
The DNA report and investigations by the crime branch ( CB) of the J& K police revealed that the minor girl after her kidnapping was held captive inside Devasthan temple, where she was drugged and then gangraped before her brutal murder.
The CB arrested eight persons, including Sanji Ram, a former government official and custodian of the temple, and his son Vishal Kumar. Two separate chargesheets were filed in the court of chief judicial magistrate ( CJM) at Kathua on April 9 and 10 and during the first hearing of the case which took place earlier this week all the accused pleaded not guilty.
When visited by a group of reporters the residents sitting on dharna at Kootah Morh of Kathua said the investigations done by CB are “dubious” as it left several leads into the incident untouched.