Alleging that people involved in rape and murder of Asifa are being shielded, Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) on Tuesday said that party has suspended its activist who participated in a march held in support of the accused rapist and murderer.
The party also said that members of the ruling coalition had participated in the march held by the Hindu Ekta Manch (HEM).
Asifa, a resident of Rasana village in Kathua district of Jammu had gone missing on January 10 and her body with torture and violence marks was recovered on January 17 about one-and-a-half kilometers away from her residence. The girl was sexually assaulted before being killed by the abductors. The police have so far arrested two special police officers on charges of murdering the minor girl.
“We have suspended one of our activists for being part of rally by Ekta Manch,” JKPCC president, Ghulam Ahmad Mir told Greater Kashmir.
He said that the suspended Congress activist is a former sarpanch.
“We suspended him despite fact that he had spoken for justice even during rally. A show cause notice has been issued to him,” he said.
Describing the incident as heinous, Mir said the culprits are being shielded. “It is a matter of concern that the SPO working under the same area SHO committed the crime. The accused was also part of an investigating team,” he said.
Mir said many other people besides the two SPOs are involved in the crime. “This investigation is mere eyewash to befool the people,” he said, asserting that most of the participants in the march were from the ruling coalition. “I apprehend more such incidents will occur,” he said, adding Muslims in Kathua and other districts are living under the “fear of rightwing terror”.
The protesters in the Hindu Ekta Manch march, carrying the tricolor, had demanded the release of the accused SPO, Deepak Khajuria.