Cops ‘Harrassing’ People Demanding Justice for Minor Girl’s Rape, Murder in Kathua

The Jammu and Kashmir police are allegedly harassing those who are demanding justice for the eight-year- old Bakerwal or Gujjar community girl from Hiranagar tehsil in Kathua district who was abducted on January 10, held captive for a week and raped before she was murdered.

Water supply to the people of Rasana village from where the minor girl belonged to has allegedly been cut. Those who are holding a protest to press the district administration to set up a judicial probe into the barbaric incident are allegedly being taken into custody and booked under serious charges.

“Following a meeting held recently at Chan Morian square of the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) and the Hindu community, which was earlier supporting us, the water supply to Rasana, Chaan Marian and Kasaana, the place where the deceased was laid to rest, was cut by the PHE department. The RSS is holding a series of meetings to garner support for the culprits and the police appear to be hand in gloves with them. The earlier meeting was also attended by the MLA Hirangar and Samba,” alleged Talib Hussain, chairman of the All Tribal Coordination Committee while talking to Newsclick.

Hussain has been booked under sections 307 (attempt to murder), 356 (assault or criminal force in attempt to commit theft), 147 (rioting) and 148 (being armed with deadly weapons while rioting) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for holding a protest demonstration on January 19 in Ramban district, blocking the Maitra-Ramban road for half an hour to demand the arrest of killers and a judicial inquiry into the case.

Terming the police investigation into the incident so far as a mere “eyewash”, he claimed that the real culprits were being “shielded with the arrest of a 15-year- old boy”.

Hussain said that the persons involved in this “heinous crime” are not being punished because of “political influence”.

“The girl was first abducted from a nearby forest where she had gone for grazing horses, then brutally raped. All circumstantial evidence suggests that she was subjected to sexual violence. Her two ribs and a leg were broken. She was given electric shocks. She was clubbed by stones and had bite marks on her body. Names of those involved had already been revealed. But until now, not even a single accused has been arrested,” he said.

Instead, Hussain said, the police are “harassing” those – including him – who are demanding justice for the tribal girl. They are being “detained, beaten up and booked under serious sections of the IPC”.

“When the incident took place, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising of police officers from Kathua was formed that revealed the involvement of the minor boy in the crime. When we registered the protest and pressed for a judicial investigation arguing that the ‘breakthrough’ made by the SIT is merely an eyewash, the probe was handed over to
another SIT led by an additional superintendent of police-rank officer Adil Raja from another district. We were more or less satisfied with the probe being conducted by the second SIT. When the administration realised that Raja is doing a fair inquiry, the case was transferred to the Crime Branch, which does not seem to handle it well. This attempt is aimed at shielding the real culprits,” he said.    

Questioning the role of the police, he said, “The girl was abducted from Govrasa Hiranagar in Kathua on January 10. The following day, the family of the girl went to police station Hiranagar to lodge a complaint. But instead of lodging the complaint, the SHO told the family that this is governments' work and it will take time,” he said.

“The police, in fact, never put sincere effort to search the girl, except doing a formality by searching the forest area for a day. An FIR was lodged on January 12 and from January 12 to 17, when her body was found, the police just for formality searched the forest area,” he said.

Hussain said that MLA Hiranagar tried to influence the SHO of the area (who was later suspended) regarding the boy’s age. “MLA Hiranagar went to the police station and asked the SHO to do something with regard to the age of the arrested boy,” he added.

The entire area, according to him, has growing influence of the right-wing forces who allegedly want the Bakarwal or Gujjar community (mostly Muslim nomadic tribe) to be evicted from the state. Such incidents, he said, is being deliberately carried out so that they can be terrified and leave Jammu and Kashmir themselves.

Another protest rally, he said, is going to be organised tomorrow to reiterate the demand for a judicial inquiry.

Meanwhile, Chowdary Qamar Hussain, ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) legislator from Rajouri has also alleged that the government is shielding the culprits involved in the rape and murder of the minor girl.

“The government woke up only after hue and cry raised by people. Otherwise, the intention of police was clear and that was to let off the culprits,” he recently told the media. “Handing over the case to Crime Branch is to hoodwink the people. This case will meet the same fate as was done to the case of Neelofar-Aasiya case of Shopian South Kashmir,” he added.

However, a senior police officer in Kathua rubbished the allegation. “Whosoever is found involved in the incident will not be spared. We will not even spare the officers if there was any administrative lapse on their part,” he said but kept mum on the alleged crackdown on the protesters and cut off the water supply.

ALSO READ: Why This Silence on Eight-Year-Old Bakerwal Girl’s Rape and Murder