Justice for Kathua?s Daughter

An obscure village Rasana of Kathua in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) has suddenly become headline nationally and internationally but for all wrong reasons. An 8-year-old nomad girl R/o Rasana village in Hira Nagar, Kathua had gone missing on January 10 and a week later her body was recovered with bruises, bite-marks on lips and bones of the arm and thigh broken. She was allegedly sexually assaulted before being killed. Police registered the case and started investigation . They arrested a juvenile and declared that the case was solved as he was involved both in the kidnapping and murder of the minor girl. Later the Special Investigation Team (SIT) was constituted to investigate the case and a SPO was arrested for his alleged involvement. This was followed by arrest of another SPO also. One more SIT was constituted. After the issue was raised in State Assembly the case was handed over to Crime Branch for investigation and new officers were introduced and assigned the case . One among them was himself accused of rape and murder charges few years back. Besides, the arrest of juvenile , two SPOs, a sub inspector and hundreds of local people particularly youth were interrogated by the police daily which created deep fears in the minds of people of many villages and they got compelled to migrate from their native places to save them from the apathy of crime branch. Two ministers visited that area to persuade people to return to their villages and assured them fair investigations but they were also termed as pro-rapists by vested interests. 

The family members of the accused questioned how it was possible to keep a little girl in the cow shed as well as Hindu Devisthan as propagated in media and challan so long with no one noticing anything. So much talked “Hindu Devisthan” is worshiping hall of 300 sq ft of three villages having 3 doors and 2 windows. There are daily prayers in mornings and evenings by people of three villages and community lunch on every Sunday. The keys of doors of this one hall worshiping place lie with the people of three villages. So how can a girl be kept as captive for 5 days? A family member of an accused, who was packed up from Meerut informed that the boy was appearing for his exams in Meerut on the concerned dates. He has a proof like examination hall admit card as well as attendance sheet of the examination centre. Moreover the accused have not been allowed to meet their advocates even. Crime branch offered only monitored meetings between the accused and advocates which is clearly against Hon’ble Supreme Court guidelines. They were not provided the copy of challan, FIR and other related documents before first hearing. This also added to the apprehensions of accused persons. The other version is that the Biological parents of the victim had died under mysterious circumstances and she is the adopted daughter of Yusuf and Nasim. Yusuf himself was adopted by a woman Gulna who was the aunt ( bua ) of Yusuf. It is said that there is some property dispute behind the murder of the girl. It is also said that the adoptive parents did not love the girl and that’s why she was not sent to school where as the two sons were going to school. This version has not been investigated by police.

From day one, this Government has been compounding the pain of this grave tragedy and tormenting the victim’s family as well as other people of the area through its irresponsible, casual, insensitive and chaotic approach towards such a heinous crime that appears to have been perpetuated to instil fear and horror into the hearts and minds of victims family and creating divide in the society leading to a setback to communal harmony in that area. 

Local residents should be praised for exercising restraint when the divisive forces are playing their dirty games to flare up tensions for their vested interests. They only demanded that Case should be handed over to the CBI for fair and transparent probe so that the perpetrator of the heinous crime was apprehended and booked under the law irrespective of any religion, caste and creed. Any further delay in the case would deny the justice to the bereaved family . 

But the demand of CBI probe was deliberately portrayed as Jammu demanding the acquittal of accused persons. Jammu was damned and demonised as supporting and siding with the rapists. How does the demand of CBI investigations mean siding with the accused? Some vested media houses did it deliberately after 3 months of occurrence of heinous crime to defame Jammu which is up in arms for deportation of illegally settled Rohingyas and a Govt meeting held to give immunity to land encroachments in the name of tribal welfare. This is a calculated and well planned move of few vested interests to defame Jammu.