Some police personnel may be involved in the rape and murder of two women in Shopian, the probe panel looking into the incident that led to protests in the Valley has indicated.
The Justice Jan Commission though hasn't named anyone, the government has decided to include the names of four police officials in the FIR.
"…there is material on the file to hold that the involvement of some agency of J&K police in the present incident cannot be completely ruled out," the commission said in the final report.
Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather, who released the report to the Press on Friday evening, said the government had decided to arraign the then Superintendent of Police Javaid Iqbal Matto, Deputy Superintendent of Police Rohit Baskotra, Sub Inspector Gazi Abdul Kareem and Inspector Shafiq Ahmad in the FIR.
In its interim report, the Jan commission had recommended their prosecution for destroying evidence. They have since been suspended. Their names have been included in the FIR for their role in the destruction and suppression of evidence, the minister said.
A case would also be registered against Matto for giving false evidence before the commission. A special investigation team will conduct further investigations into the case, he said.
{{/usCountry}}A case would also be registered against Matto for giving false evidence before the commission. A special investigation team will conduct further investigations into the case, he said.
{{/usCountry}}Bodies of 23-year-old Nelofar and her sister-in-law Asiya (17) were found in a canal outside Shopian town on May 30. They were raped and murdered.“It is the first step. However, better late than never,” spokesman for Majlis-e-Mashawarat Shopian, the body spearheading the campaign for identifying and arresting the culprits, said.
Shutdowns strike again
Shutdowns and protests crippled life in Kashmir Valley on Friday yet again. This time the protesters were demonstrating over the death of a young woman, who was allegedly assaulted by army men in Kupwara on Wednesday night.
The hardline faction of the Hurriyat Conference led by veteran leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani had given the called for a shutdown to protest against “the fatal assault on a girl by troopers in Kupwara and re-arrest of Syed Ali Shah Geelani”.