Magisterial probe ordered
- The state government on Friday ordered a magisterial inquiry into the alleged rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl from a tribal community in Kathua after the Opposition created uproarious scenes in the state Legislative Assembly for the second consecutive day.
- Members of the National Conference and Congress, and an independent MLA were on their feet immediately after the House began its proceedings for the day.
The state government today claimed a 15-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with the death of a minor girl in the Hiranagar area of Kathua district.
Responding to the concern expressed by the legislators on the gruesome incident, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Abdul Rehman Veeri said in the Assembly that the accused had confessed to the crime.
He said the investigation conducted by the Special Investigation Team had revealed that the accused kidnapped the minor girl and kept her in nearby cowshed at Rassana village, where he attempted to rape her. When she resisted, he killed her by strangulating her. He said the accused had been arrested and further investigation was on. On January 12, the girl’s father had given a written application to the police stating that his eight-year-old daughter had gone for grazing horses in the nearby forest area.
“The horses returned in the evening but the girl did not. Consequently, the complainant along with others started a search in the forest and on the next day they again searched the forest areas but she could not be traced,” the minister said.
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Veeri said during the course of investigation, a police party visited the spot. A search in the Rassana forest was conducted with the help of civilians and Bakerwals residing in the area. On January 17 at about 10.30 am, the body of the missing girl was recovered from the Rassana forest area. “The body was taken into police custody for post-mortem examination,” he said, adding that after the post-mortem, the body was handed over to the family for last rites. The investigation into case was in progress to collect more evidence about the commission of offence by the accused, he said.
