The CBI on Monday said in its final report that the two women allegedly raped and murdered in Shopian in south Kashmir on May 29, actually died by drowning.
It also issued chargesheets against 13 people — six doctors and five lawyers, besides two family members of the victims.
The doctors, who conducted the two earlier autopsies, were booked, as “…they conspired to discredit the police and security forces”. The lawyers have been booked for threatening and assaulting witnesses to make false claims.
The deaths of Asiya Jan (17) and her sister-in-law Neelofar Jan (22) caused furore in Kashmir. The victims’ family members and political parties claimed that they were raped and murdered by security forces. After the recovery of the bodies on May 30, there were protests in the Valley and a 47-day-long agitation in Shopian.
But the claim was blown to pieces after the CBI and experts from AIIMS in Delhi exhumed the bodies and declared that Asiya was a virgin.
The CBI report was, however, rejected by both the victims’ family and Majlis-e-Mashawarat, the civil body that spearheaded the agitation.
Shakeel Ahmad, Neelofar’s husband and Asiya’s brother, said, “We have been raped the second time today. Every statement given is under coercion.”
{{/usCountry}}Shakeel Ahmad, Neelofar’s husband and Asiya’s brother, said, “We have been raped the second time today. Every statement given is under coercion.”
{{/usCountry}}The opposition PDP said: “The People’s apprehensions have been vindicated by the CBI.”