Srinagar, Feb 17: A local court on Wednesday granted bail to 11 persons, including doctors, lawyers and two witnesses, accused of fabricating the evidence and retracting from their statements in rape and murder case of teenager Asiya and her sister-in law, Neelfoar, who were found dead on the banks of Rambiara nallah in south Kashmir’s Shopian district on May 30 last year.
All the accused except Dr Nighat Shaheen and Dr Nazia Hassan were present before Chief Judicial Magistrate, who took the cognizance of the chargehseet filed by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The court asked the accused to furnish a bail bond of Rs 10,000 each. The accused were represented by the President of High Court Bar Association, Mian Abdul Qayoom, who moved an application for inclusion of statements made by some people before the Special Investigating Team (SIT) of the state police.
The CBI counsel was not present in the court when the bail was being granted and therefore, there was no opposition. The next date of hearing has been fixed for April 17.
The accused informed the court that statements recorded by Special Investigation Team under 161 CrPC were not provided to them. They filed an application to seek records of the SIT. Court directed the CBI counsel to file the objections on next date of hearing.
Pertinently, on December 10 2009 the CBI submitted its report on rape and murder case of Asiya and Neelofar before the court. The agency had claimed that victims were neither raped nor were they murdered. “They died due to accidental drowning,” the agency had said.
“The death of Neelofar Jan and Asiya Jan has occurred due to ante-mortem drowning and offences under section 302, 326, 376 and 201 RPC could not be proved,” the CBI report added.
The CBI report said the allegations of rape and murder of Asiya Jan couldn’t be substantiated. “At the same the investigation has established that the concerted efforts were made to create false evidence by creating false post mortem reports, fudged slides of samples taken from bodies and by intimidating witnesses to implicate the police, security forces in a false case of rape and murder of the two ladies,” the charge sheet said.
On December 14 2009, CBI submitted all the records including case diaries and evidence material pertaining to the case in “two sealed trunks” to CJM Srinagar, Muhammad Ibrahim Wani.
The CBI had said that investigation had established that first team of doctors comprising Dr Bilal Ahmad Dalal, and Dr Nazia Hassan and second team of doctors comprising Dr Nighat Shaheen, Dr Ghulam Qadir Sofi and Dr Maqbool Mir in connivance with Dr Ghulam Muhammad Paul had prepared false postmortem reports.
The CBI charge sheet against the doctors reads: “The investigation revealed that six doctors mentioned false facts in their different post-mortem reports to support the theory of rape and murder of the deceased ladies. It has been conclusively proven by the findings of the AIIMS/CFSL that the deceased had died due to ante-mortem drowning. Besides, there is no evidence to support that rape had taken place”.
The CBI report had arrayed advocates Abdul Majid Mir, Mushtaq Ahmad Gatoo, Muhammad Yousuf Bhat, Altaf Muhammad and Sheikh Mubarak in the charge sheet along with two civilians Ali Muhammad Sheikh and Zahoor Ahmad Ahangar (brother of Asiya Jan) for intimidating, assaulting and threatening the witnesses to make false statements to implicate police and security forces “in a false case of rape and murder.”
Regarding the lawyers, the CBI charge sheet claimed that five accused advocates intimidated, assaulted and threatened witnesses to make false statements to implicate police and troops. “This was done to defame , discredit  and cause injury to the  personnel of the police/security forces and get  them wrongfully  convicted  for capital  offence,” reads CBI charge-sheet.
“The accused 13 persons have committed offences under section 120-B RPC, 167, 193, 194, 195 A RPC and substantive offences under section 167, 193, 194 and 195 A RPC,” CBI charge-sheet adds and prayed that the accused be tried according to the law.
The re-examination of two witnesses by CBI had been challenged by Shopian Bar Association in the High Court through a writ petition, where a notice stands already issued to the respondents including the CBI. The writ petition is expected to come up for hearing anytime this month.

Lastupdate on : Wed, 17 Feb 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 17 Feb 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:00:00 IST