Kathua: Jammu and Kashmir Police took strict measures against lawyers who tried to prevent the Crime Branch sleuths from filing a charge sheet in the Kathua rape & murder case on Monday.
Hours after the Police registered a case against the lawyers, former J&K Minister and National Conference president Omar Abdullah on Tuesday stood up for the lawyers saying two Political ministers are behind the action and whether the Government is willing to take action against the leaders involved in the incident.
The opposition party National Conference (NC), also demanded transfer of the rape case to any other court for a free and fair trial as promised by CM Mehmooba Mufti.
The J&K Police registered a case against the lawyers on Monday who were preventing the Crime branch Sleuths from filling an official charge sheet.
Mr. Ambdullah appreciated this Police act and sought action against the two BJP ministers without naming them. He took to Twitter where he said, “Action by @JmuKmrPolice against the Kathua mob masquerading as lawyers let’s not forget the mob was emboldened by the actions/words of two BJP ministers in @MehboobaMufti’s cabinet. What about action against them?’’
The rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl from the nomadic bakerwal community on January 17 shook the nation uncovering the mastermind bureaucrat behind the crime for driving the Muslim community out of the region.
NC general secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar said, “Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti promised a free and fair trial on the floor of the House and said that the guilty will not be spared. Yesterday, what happened in Kathua is an eye-opener. This case should be transferred to any other court in J&K.”
Speaking about the mob assault, Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik termed the attempt of Kathua Bar Association Lawyers as shocking. “There will be hardly any place in the world where efforts will be made by a section of people to shield the culprits involved in a minor child’s rape and murder unless there is a heinous ulterior motive involved,” they said.
They also added justice to the innocent child can only be achieved if all political, religious and social organizations, as well as civil society activists, join hands to demand justice for the child.
“(But)… every effort is being made to shield and save the culprits by communalizing this human issue of justice to a little child,” they added.