Jammu child gang rape: Motive was to drive victim's community out of area, says charge sheet

The investigations in the gangrape and murder of Kathua girl have shown that the motive of the crime was to drive away Bakarwal community from the area. The key accused Sanji Ram, a retired revenue official was against the settlement of Bakarwals in Rasana Kootah, and Dhamyal area of Kathua district. The police investigation also mentions that apart from other things suspicion of cow slaughter was one of the reasons for the hatred towards victim’s community.

“During investigation, it transpired that a particular community had a general impression that the Bakarwals indulge in cow slaughter and drug trafficking”, says the 18-page charge sheet filed by the police in the court.

As per the details that are emerging out from the investigations Sanji Ram always kept on motivating the members of his community of the area not to provide land for grazing or any other kind of assistance.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Sometime back one Harnam Singh had sold land to one Bakarwal and Sanji Ram had started accompanying against said Harnam Singh.

“He also utilized the services of Ex-sarpanch of Kootah and Rasana area against said Harnam Singh and managed to stop the payment on account of installation of telephone towers in his land through the concerned tehsildar on the plea that the land in question was a state land. Ultimately Harnam Singh approached the Hon’ble High court and got the impugned order of Tehsildar quashed”, details the chargesheet.

The police report details several incidents in past where Sanji Ram had been seen conspiring against the Bakarwal community. Head Constable Tilak and SPO Deepak Khajuria were also against the settlement of Bakarwals in Rasana, Kootah and Dhamyal area who had already discussed this issue with Sanji Ram to Chalk out a strategy for dislodging the Bakarwals from the area.

“They were blamingthe Bakarwals on one pretext or the other and used to threaten them”, mentions the police report

The investigators have been able to establish that the accused had reasons to act against the Bakarwal Community.

“The conspiracy ultimately resulted inthe gruesome rape and brutal murder of an innocent child of only 8 years of age, who being a small kid became a soft target”, says the chargesheet.

As per the investigations, the girlwas kidnapped on 10th of January, drugged and kept in the temple (Devi Sathan) which was managed by Sanji Ram. For days she was repeatedly drugged and gang-raped. On the day when she was finally killed the accused gangraped her one more time and then strangulated her. They also hit her with a stone to ensure she had died.

Jammu Bar Association including Kathua Bar association and Kathua Hindu Ekta morcha had objected the Crime Branch investigation and are asking for CBI enquiry, a couple of top leaders who are serving ministers in collation government of state backed the bar and morcha and approached to chief minister with a demand that case should be given to CBI, but chief minister rejected the demand.

Bar continued their agitation and crime branch was stopped to produce the challan in Kathua CJM court but after 5 hours of wait, crime branch managed to produce the challan of the case against 7 persons arrested in the case who are alleged have done this crime. soon bar called for a shutdown for 11th Aprilin Jammu, but state BJPunit and chamber of commerce Jammu had distanced themselves from the shutdown call.

On the other hand in Kashmirprotesters were seen demanding justice forvictim , protest were seen in Srinagar lal chowk of lawyers, civil society, Kashmir economic alliance, Kashmir university students threatened to go for hunger strike if justice was not delivered, where the main opposition party national conference said that the case should be transferred to some other court for free and fair investigation.