Kathua case is making rounds everywhere. Just for petty political gains some unscrupulous elements have brought disgrace to the society and humanity. Every sensible citizen is hanging his head in shame.
Legal fraternity is essentially meant for ensuring justice to the victim and for punishing guilty to deliver justice. That is what rule of law demands. A common man shivers after seeing the picture of Asifa a beautiful blossom like face. Shift your eye and see another picture of her dead body lying on floor in tattered clothes. One can only imagine through what torture, trauma, misery and helplessness this eight year old child must have gone for one week at the hands of these beasts. A section of the area wanted to glorify this brutal act for political gains. I am shocked to see that legal fraternity of that region (excluding Poonch Rajpuri, Doda, Kishtiward, Badrawah and Ramban) has buried its conscience by coming in support of those who were heading the campaign of changing the investigating agency Crime Branch. They wanted it to be shifted to CBI. Here we must not forget that CB has done a commendable job.
Hats off to a young lady lawyer Deepika who demonstrated the courage to take the brief for victim despite hostile atmosphere in which she has been even threatened and intimated as per her public statement. When condemnations started pouring in from every nook and corner of the country and humiliations started piling up within the country as well as from outside India, then fascists started feeling the heat of their foolishness.
All channels were abuzz to condemn those who wanted to run this campaign to save the criminals. Magnitude of this inhuman and savage act can be judged from the fact that some known TV anchors who have biased and prejudicial mind towards one community were also furious against those who wanted to save these criminals for ulterior political motives to threaten the victims of Kathua and force them to leave the place.
Having realised that game plan has not only failed but exposed the ugly face of many leaders, condemnation from every corner of the country has humiliated them. People at the helm of affairs are finding difficult to hide their faces. Some of them have shamelessly taken a U-turn. I saw one front running so called leader saying we were fighting for justice for Asifa which Crime Branch could not do but CBI could do. When the case is cracked, conspiracy exposed, evidence collected to present the challan why were lawyers stopping Crime Branch from presenting the same. Was it to deny justice to Asifa or to do justice with her. When Crime Branch had said they have unearthed the details what was the need to press for CBI ?
People can’t be befooled by mere hypocrisy and duplicity. Fair trial and fearless prosecution needs secured environment which I doubt in this situation and circumstances. Precedence is that when sex scandal case surfaced in which people from Jammu were also involved, they sought transfer of the case from the State. Those who are dealing the case are advised to see if the steps are taken to transfer the case to any other place which was unaffected by the agitation so that real justice is delivered to poor innocent soul.
(B.A.Bashir is Sr. Advocate.)