J&K CM slams protests demanding Kathua rapist’s release

SRINAGAR: In a strong rebuke to protestors demanding the release of the special police officer (SPO) arrested for allegedly raping and murdering an eight-year-old girl in

Kathua

district last month, chief minister Mehbooba Mufti called the act a “desecration”.

“Appalled by the marches & protests in defense of the recently apprehended rapist in Kathua. Also horrified by their use of our national flag in these demonstrations, this is nothing short of desecration. The accused has been arrested & the law will follow its course (sic),” she tweeted on Friday.

On Thursday, right-wing outfit ‘Hindu Ekta Manch’ organised a protest in Kathua, where supporters bearing the Indian national flag were seen chanting pro-Hindutva slogans and demanding the release of SPO

Deepak Khajuria

, who was arrested on February 10 by a special investigation team (SIT) of Jammu and Kashmir Police probing into the crime.

The victim had been abducted from Kathua’s Rasana village on January 12, kept hostage and raped for several days, before her brutalized body was found on January 17, a week after her parents had lodged a missing complaint. An autopsy revealed that she had been raped. Shortly afterwards, cops arrested a 15-year-old boy in connection with the crime. Ironically, Khajuria was a part of the team investigating the case.

Following widespread furore in the legislative assembly over laxity in the investigation, the state government handed over the probe to the crime branch of Jammu and Kashmir Police. A SIT was formed, which discovered the involvement of Khajuria and arrested him. “Kudos to IGP Alok Puri for professional and timely investigation,” Rajouri DC

Shahid Iqbal Choudhary

had tweeted after the arrest.