Four months after the conviction of six people in connection with the rape and murder of an eight-year-old nomadic girl in Kathua of Jammu and Kashmir in 2018, a Jammu court ordered the police to register an FIR against six members of the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which investigated the case, for allegedly torturing and coercing witnesses to give false statements.
While three of the main accused were sentenced to life imprisonment, the others were awarded five years in jail for destruction of evidence.
Judicial Magistrate Prem Sagar, on Tuesday, directed Jammu senior superintendent of police to register the FIR against the then SSP R.K. Jalla (now retired), ASP Peerzada Naveed, Deputy Superintendents of Police Shetmbari Sharma and Nissar Hussain, Sub-Inspector Urfan Wani and Kewal Kishore of crime branch of police, reports PTI. The court direction came in the wake of an application filed by Sachin Sharma, Neeraj Sharma and Sahil Sharma, who were witnesses in the case.
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"Considered the argument of counsel for the applicant and order of the Supreme Court and the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir. As per the affidavit of the counsel for applicant, no proceedings are pending for disposal in the apex court with regard to the case in question," the court order said.
"From the gist of the complaint, cognizable offences are made out against the non-applicants herein. Therefore, application of the applicant under section 153 (3) CrPC is allowed with the direction to SSP Jammu to register FIR against the non-applicants under relevant provisions of law and report compliance by next date of hearing on November 11," it said.
The abduction, rape and killing of the minor girl was part of a carefully planned strategy to remove the minority nomadic community from the area, it said.
Sanji Ram, the caretaker of the temple where the crime took place, special police officer Deepak Khajuria and Parvesh Kumar, and another person were convicted for criminal conspiracy, murder, gangrape and destruction of evidence.
Two police officials—sub inspector Anand Dutta and head constable Tilak Raj—and a special police officer Surender Verma were convicted for destruction of evidence.
(With PTI inputs)
