Kathua rape case: Man claims Hindu Ekta Manch leader threatening him

Mohammad Rafiq had provided his land for the burial of Kathua rape victim. He has filed a police complaint alleging that the Hindu Ekta Manch leader threatened and abused him.

A man, who had provided his land for the burial of a minor girl brutally raped and killed in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir earlier this year, has claimed that a leader of a right-wing organisation was threatening him.

File photo of protest against the rape of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua in Ahmedabad. (REUTERS)

Mohammad Rafiq, from the nomadic Gujjar community, has filed a police complaint alleging that the Hindu Ekta Manch leader threatened and abused him to drive him out of the area.

“We have received a complaint from Mohmamad Rafiq claiming that he was threatened by Sarpanch Kant Kumar,” a police official said. Rafiq has alleged that Kumar, a Manch leader, was threatening him to drive him out of the area.

The police official said they have found discrepancies in Rafiq’s complaint and were conducting a preliminary investigation into the matter before reaching any conclusion.

Rafiq, a resident of Gujjar Basti Bandi, had provided his land for the burial of the eight-year-old girl found dead on January 17, a week after she had gone missing.

While a majority of the nomadic community migrated from Kathua as part of their annual movement during the summer season, Rafiq and a few other families did not as they have built permanent residential structures in the area.

The Hindu Ekta Manch had organised a rally in support of the accused in the rape and murder case of the minor girl.