KATHUA RAPE CASE : THE HALL OF SHAME

VICTIM

Asifa Bano

Age :- 8 years old

Location :- Rasna village, Kathua, Jammu and Kashmir

Date of missing :-  10th January, 2018

FIR filed on :-  12th January, 2018.

Dead Body recovered on :- 17th January, 2018

ACCUSED

•Sanji Ram

•Priest in family temple

•Retired bureaucrat

• Deepak Khajuria

• Police Officer

• Vishal

•  Son of Sanji Ram

• Parvesh Kumar

• Police Officer

• Tilak Raj

• Head Constable

• Arvind Dutta

• Sub-Inspector

INCIDENT

Whole Incident is described in 2 different points-

  • Complaint

The 5600-word charge sheet filed by a Senior Superintendent of Jammu, states that on 12 January 2018, Mohammad Yusuf (Father of Asifa) lodged a complaint in the Hira Nagar Police.

His complaint said that his daughter, aged 8, had gone to watch over grazing horses 30 minutes past noon on 10 January 2018. She was seen at 2 PM, but when the horses returned at 4 PM, she was no longer with them.

After searching for her and being unable to find her, her father registered a First Information Report (FIR) with the policetating that his daughter had gone missing.

  • Discovery and arrests

On 17 January 2018, the body of the victim was found and taken into custody by the police to allow an autopsy to be conducted. The postmortem was conducted by a team of doctors at the District Hospital in Kathua at 2:30 PM on the same day.

On 22 January 2018, the investigation of the case was transferred to Crime Branch and Crime Headquarters, Jammu and Kashmir. A statement released by the police listed seven individuals who had been arrested and charged over the crime, including four police officers. A total of eight people, including four police officers, were arrested. Two of the police officers were arrested on suspicion of attempting to destroy evidence and of accepting money to cover up the incident. One of the accused claimed to be 15 years old, though a medical examination later suggested he was 19.

Look Out notice for Asifa released by District Police Headquarters, Kathua

Forensic Evidence

The post-mortem revealed the presence of clonazepam in the body of the  girl.

The examination by the doctors revealed that the girl had been drugged with a sedative before she was raped and murdered.

Forensic evidence suggested that she had been held for several days by Sanji Ram, one of the accused of the crime.

Strands of hair recovered from the temple matched those taken from the girl. The forensic examination stated that Asifa had been raped multiple times by different men, and that she had been strangled to death, and was hit in the head with a heavy stone.

The Delhi Forensic Science Laboratory analyzed 14 packets of evidence containing vaginal swabs, hair strands, blood samples of four accused, viscera of the  girl, the girl’s frock and salwar, simple clay, and blood stained clay.

TRIAL

• First Hearing

The trial for the Kathua murder and rape case began in Jammu and Kashmir on 16 April 2018 before the Principal Sessions Court judge, Kathua.

• Second Hearing

The second hearing was scheduled for 28 April 2018.The Supreme Court sought a response from the Jammu and Kashmir government regarding shifting the trial to Chandigarh by 27 April 2018.

• 7th May, 2018

On 7 May 2018, the Supreme Court of India shifted the case from Jammu and Kashmir to Pathankot. The Supreme Court instructed the trial to be fast-tracked. The trial was closed to the public and press according to orders from the Supreme Court. The trial also was being held in-camera as per instructions from the Supreme Court.

• 14th November 2018

On 14 November 2018, the family of the rape victim decided to drop their lawyer Deepika Rajawat.The application to remove the power of attorney was filed before the trial court in Pathankot, where the girl’s father said Rajawat won’t be representing them in the case anymore stating her security concerns and general lack of interest in the case.

• 10th June 2019

•Six of the seven defendants were found guilty, and one was acquitted

VERDICT

• Sanji Ram, Deepak Khajuria and Parvesh Kumar were sentenced to life imprisonment of 25 years.

• Tilak Raj, Anand Dutta and Surender Verma were sentenced to five years in jail for destroying evidence.

• Court acquitted Vishal due to lack of evidence.

SECTIONS APPLIED

Sections 302, 376, 201 and 120-B of the Ranbir Penal Code

Jammu and Kashmir State Ranbir Penal Code or RPC was the main criminal code applicable in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. •The Indian Penal Code, applicable elsewhere in India, was not applicable here under Article 370 of the Constitution of India. It came into force in 1932.The code was introduced during the reign of Dogra dynasty with Ranbir Singh as its ruler and hence named after him

REFERENCES

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