Srinagar, Dec 18: The High Court Bar Association (HCBA) Friday accused the Central Bureau of Investigation of “covering up” the “Shopian double rape and murder case” to shield the men in uniform. It said the lawyers would not keep quiet till it exposed the perpetrators. It also called for a strike on Wednesday in all courts of Kashmir against CBI for framing lawyers and doctors in the case.   
 “The CBI’s Shopian cover-up plan was conceived in New Delhi and demonstrated in Srinagar and Shopian. The Bar will fight against the false and fabricated script of CBI in and outside the Court,” the Bar president, Mian Abdul Qayoom told a news conference here.
 He said the Bar would continue to press for international probe into the incident and would also evolve a strategy for the public probe.
 Flanked by all district presidents of district Bars including Shopian Bar, Qayoom said the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, his cabinet Minister Ali Muhammad Sagar, former Divisional Commissioner Masood Samoon, the then IGP Dr B Srinivas, then Superintendent of Police Shopian Javid Iqbal Matoo were the “key conspirators of the cover-up operation of the CBI at the state level.”
 Qayoom while recollecting the incidents that took place since May 29, 2009 said, “On May 29, police didn’t lodge the report when the family of the two women went to police station.”
 Normally, he said the police should have registered a report under sections 366 and 363. He quoted the Supreme Court judgment saying it was not the responsibility of the police to judge whether the complaint is false or true. “It has to register a report,” he said. From here the cover up began, he said.
 On May 30, 2009, Qayoom said, when the bodies, with injury marks, were found near the stream police didn’t register FIR under section 302 and 376. The then SP Javid Iqbal Matoo, he said, described it as a case of poisoning and ruled out rape and murder, and police started inquest proceeding under section 174. He said under the law the bodies should have been kept at the spot till the evidence was collected.
 “Bodies were removed and evidence was not collected. On the same day Ali Muhammad Sagar stated that Government would come up with truth in 24 hours,” Qayoom said.
 He said within 24 hours the then IGP and then Divisional Commissioner Masood Samoon floated the “drowning theory” from Srinagar without even visiting the spot. Qayoom said in June 2009 the FSL report confirmed rape, but for six days the report was withheld and instead the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah addressed a press conference describing it as case of drowning.
 He said police did not allow anyone to visit the spot after May 29. The Bar team, he said, that had tried to visit the spot was detained. Bar, he said, moved a petition in the High Court on June 5 but till June 29 nothing substantial happened.
 On June 8, 2009, he said, a case was registered under section 376 but no evidence was collected. He said when the lawyers of Shopian Bar felt that the police was not doing anything they moved an application before the Chief Judicial Magistrate requesting for Narco-analysis of the accused policemen. “This is the sole reason they (Shopian Bar members) have been arrayed as accused in the case,” he said. Subsequently, he said that two witnesses deposed before the CJM.
  Qayoom displayed the order of CJM and the statement of the witnesses. He said when the case was taken over by the CBI; the agency moved an application to record the statement of witnesses again. But the Court rejected it saying “There is no provision to re-record the statement under section 164 A.”
 The CBI on the same day filed revision petition in the Sessions court against CJM’s order. The Sessions Court in its order stated whether the CBI can record the statement would be seen at the time of trial of the case. It also said that whether anyone could be held guilty of perjury would also be seen by the trial court. “Before re-recording the statement the CJM was required to look into this aspect.  Trial is yet commence and the CBI has arrayed witnesses as accused,” Qayoom said
 The CBI, he said, had interrogated the lawyers of Shopian in Humhama Police Station. He said P. Chidambaram though being lawyer had not seen what CBI had done with the case and he was issuing the statements in air. “ The CBI has committed fraud and it would be exposed,” he added.

‘What witnesses saw’
“The witnesses, who were on their way to home on May 29 evening at 2000 hours had noticed a blue color 407 model police vehicle parked on the road across the Batpora-Zawoora bridge. The vehicle was facing Shopian and had police type khaki uniformed men in front of it with faces covered with black cloth and helmets on their head. The uniformed men in Urdu language asked witnesses to raise their hands and then they were pushed off,” Qayoom said.

Lastupdate on : Fri, 18 Dec 2009 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 19 Dec 2009 00:00:00 IST