Srinagar: Tribal activist Talib Hussain, who raised the issue of an eight-year-old being raped and murdered in Jammu’s Kathua district, was arrested on Sunday for "creating nuisance".
Police said that Hussain was 'creating nuisance and had blocked the national highway for hours'.
Police used batons and tear gas to disperse demonstrators who had blocked the Jammu-Pathankot highway over the “government’s delay in arresting the culprits”. Officers defended the action by claiming that the protestors flung stones at them.
“Ladki ke qatilon ko phasi do... Ladki ko insaaf do (Hang the killers and give the girl justice),” were slogans raised during the protest.
Meanwhile, chief minister Mehbooba Mufti finally broke her silence and said that the incident was heart-wrenching and a SIT (Special Investigation Team) had been appointed to probe it.
Opposition parties have stepped up the heat on the PDP-BJP government in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly. Members of Congress and National Conference stormed the Well of the House and accused the state government of trying to cover up the episode.
Senior Congress legislator Usman Majid demanded that the police officials who "delayed" investigations be transferred out of Hiranagar as they could further hamper proceedings.
On Friday, Senior PDP minister Abdul Rehman Veeri told the Assembly that a 15-year-old had been arrested in the case and had confessed to the crime.
After relentless pressure from opposition parties, Veeri on Saturday reiterated that the government was committed to bringing the culprits to book and even ordered the suspension of SHO Hiranagar, among other officials.
The girl’s parents and other villagers had alleged that the police did not conduct any searches on the first day of her disappearance. They blamed the police for inaction and going slow in the case.
“Had the police been efficient in their job, this shameless incident would have never happened,” National Conference MLA Main Altaf told News18.
Altaf further said that the “government’s story” of arresting a 15-year-old boy and “passing him off” as the sole accused was “not cutting ice”. He alleged prima facie the investigation had many holes.
“How can a 15-year-old boy hold a girl captive for seven days and then dump her on a roadside without help from anyone else. This is unacceptable and unbelievable. There are many others who are involved in the crime and villagers have dropped enough hints about who they are. Police have only procrastinated,” he alleged.
Congress leader Usman Majid alleged that the government was “complicit” with influential people in trying to shield the culprits.
“Justice cannot be delivered to the poor family unless the case is properly investigated free of any political pressure,” Majid said, adding that “certain forces” did not want the truth to come out.
Talking to News18, Altaf claimed that he had reports of other people being involved in the act. “Such an incident could not have taken place without the knowledge of others. There is a sinister plan in this. Why is the medical report of the girl not being made public?” he asked.
The victim's family members said that she had left the house to accompany the horses to a nearby water source. She was then abducted, raped, tortured for a week at a cowshed, before being murdered. Her body was found in a bush about three kilometres away from where she was kept.
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