Kathua Rape and Murder: How Entire Game Plan Was Made and Executed and Why

New Delhi/Jammu: The Crime Branch of the Jammu and Kashmir police claims to have almost cracked the gruesome offenses of abduction, rape and murder of eight-year-old Bakerwal (goatherds) community girl – a resident of Rasana village at Hiranagar Tehsil in Jammu’s Kathua district.

“We have cracked 95 percent of the case and arrested six of the seven accused. We have also identified the mastermind of the entire game plan and he will soon be taken into custody,” a top official of the Crime Branch told Newsclick.

The investigators, said sources, have moved an application in the court of Kathua’s chief judicial magistrate, seeking police custody of Shubham Sangra alias Chuboo after the former was declared as “adult” by a board of doctors of the Government Medical College, Jammu.

“On the basis of physical, dental and radiological examination, the approximate age of above mentioned individual (who is Sangra) is above nineteen years (19+),” opined the board of doctors in its report submitted to the police on March 5.

The board was constituted on February 28 after the High Court directed the Special Investigation team of the Crime Branch to take steps for ascertaining the age of Sangra within a period of 10 days.

“His (Sangra’s) questioning has become essential after the emergence of the new facts following the arrest of other accused,” said an official close to the investigation.

Sangra is the first accused who was arrested in connection with the case soon after the investigation began. Following custodial interrogation, he opened pandora’s box that led to the arrests of Special Police Officer (SPO) Deepak Khajuria aka Deepu and Parvesh Kumar aka Mannu who was arrested on February 26.

Khajuria and Kumar allegedly confessed during their custodial interrogation that they made an attempt to rape deceased victim – who was abducted on January 10 while she had gone for grazing her horses, held captive for a week at different locations and raped before she was murdered.

The two accused – Khajuria and Kumar – also allegedly “assisted” Sangra when he “force fed a toffee like substance called MANNAR” having sedative effect to the victim. “After being administered the said drug, she became unconscious and thereafter she was raped by Sangra. Subsequently, the three accused took her to Devasthan, which is situated in the forest in Rasana village. She was kept there in confinement till January 14,” said sources.

The witnesses – whose statements have been recorded under Section 164-A Cr.Pc. – have also reportedly confirmed the involvement of Kumar and other accused in the crime.

After victim’s body was found in a nearby forest on January 17, initial probe carried out by the Hiranagar police, said that “significant presence of clay and blood spot” were found on the clothes of the deceased. However, the Srinagar-based Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) reports dated February 1 and February 19 ruled out the presence of blood as well as any foreign article/clay on the cloth of the deceased.

“On the basis of the FSL reports, few police officials of Hiranagar police station were questioned. They deposed that a head constable was seen by them washing some clothes in late hours on January 17 – the day victim's body was found. Accused Deepak Khajuria also confessed that the head constable washed the clothes of the deceased. Prima facie it seems that the head constable had, with the intention to screen the offender from legal punishment, intentionally caused disappearance of evidence by washing the clothes before being sent to the FSL for examination,” said sources.

The head constable was arrested on March 7. “Role of other officials, who were associated with the initial probe, in destruction of material evidence is being looked into,” they added.

The witnesses “conversant with the fact and circumstances” of the case have in “unequivocal terms”  terms stated that the “entire game plan of committing the offenses had initially germinated in the mind of Sanji Ram, a former revenue officer (Patwari), who was bent on dislodging the Bakerwal community from Rasana village”.

“In order to execute his nefarious design, he (Sanji Ram) hatched a criminal conspiracy with Deepak Khajuriya (the SPO) and Shubham Sangra for kidnapping and murder of the victim. The accused Surinder Kumar (another SPO) and accused Parvesh Kumar were later made a part of the conspiracy to execute the plan. Needless to mention the accused persons arrested so far have also divulged about the involvement of Sanji Ram in masterminding the entire game plan ultimately resulting in to the commission of offenses of kidnapping, rape and murder of innocent girl child of eight years age,” said the investigators. 

The prosecution has sought custodial questioning of Sanji Ram who is said to be absconding. Newsclick went to his house in Rasana but he was not available. His family members alleged that the Crime Branch is “partial” in its probe.

“Neither my father, nor cousin (Shubham Sangra) has any role to play in the incident. What happened to the victim was horrible and the perpetrators must be brought to book. But we feel that the police are witch-hunting the Hindu community and framing innocents. Therefore, we demand a CBI probe into the matter,” said Ram’s daughter.   

A community activist – Talib Hussain – who is also a lawyer and assisting the victim’s family lawyer in the case has been leveling the same allegation as the police ever since the crime was committed. “It was Sanji Ram who had held a secret meeting and identified the victim to give a message to the Bakerwal community that ‘if we can do such a heinous act with a little girl, then what will happen to you and your girls who are adult’,” he alleged.

The Hindu Ekta Manch, a right-wing outfit which recently took out a rally in support of the victims after Sangra and two SPOs were apprehended, was formed after the incident “with an aim to shield the culprits with political patronage of the BJP” which is a coalition partner of the Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti led government in the state.

Advocate Ankur Sharma, who is associated with the Manch, told Newsclick that they also want justice to be done but won’t allow anyone to “harass and witch-hunt” innocents in the name of investigation. “The Crime Branch is conducting the probe in an extremely unprofessional manner. They are implicating people using force. This is being done on the instruction of their Kashmir-based political masters who are separatists. Therefore, we demand a fair probe by an independent central investigating agency,” he said.

“It is now visibly clear that the chief minister of the state has chosen to spearhead a bigoted, communal and Islamo-fascist campaign of demographic change in Jammu province and is instrumental in inflicting open injuries to the Hindu-Sikh/Dogra sentiments in the state,” he added.

Responding to Sharma’s allegation, Talib said the investigation is being monitored by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court. “The court so far is satisfied with the inquiry, then why is the Hindu Ekta Manch raising hue and cry? Let the Crime Branch complete its probe. Have faith on the court,” he said.

So far, six accused – four policemen, including two SPOs, a head constable and an inspector – have been arrested in connection with the case.