challengethetrialcourt’s order in
theHighCourt. J.K.Chopra(Pun-
jab),S.S.Basra(Punjab),Harminder
Singh(Crime Branch, Jammu)and
Bhupinder Singh (Crime Branch,
Jammu)werethe PublicProsecutors
in the case.
THECASE
The Jammuand Kashmir Crime
Branch, whichtookovertheinvest-
igationof the casefromthe localpo-
liceon January22,2018,filedits
chargesheet on April9, 2018,in the
courtof ChiefJudicialMagistrate,
Kathua.OnMay7, 2018,theSu-
premeCourt transferredthecase
fromKathuato Pathankot.Citinga
reportof theDistrictandSessions
Judge,Kathua, the courtobservedin
its orderthattherehadbeensome
obstructionof judicialproceedings
by the BarAssociationin Kathua.
In orderto ensure a fairand
speedytrial,thecourtdirected the
KathuaSessionsCourtto sendall the
materials relatingto the chargesheet
andotherdocumentsin sealedcov-
ers throughspecialmessengers with
theassistanceof thepoliceto the
DistrictandSessionsJudge,Path-
ankot.Thelowercourtwasdirected
to proceedundertheRPC.TheSu-
premeCourtalsodirectedthe trans-
lation of the statements of the
witnesses fromUrdu to Englishto
facilitatethe proceedingsbeforethe
courtat Pathankot. TheJammuand
Kashmirgovernment wasdirected to
transportthewitnesses andtheac-
cusedto Pathankotandprovideall
necessaryfacilities to them.
Thein-cameraday-to-daytrial
commenced in thefirst weekof June
2018 in thePathankotcourt. The
trialendedon June3, 2019.THEBAKARWALS
TheBakarwalsarea pastoralcom-
munity.ThetermBakarwalis de-
rived from bakriwale, meaning
goatherd.Bakarwalsare saidto ori-
ginallybelongto theGujjarstock.
Thoughtheyhave permanent settle-
ments,theyoftenmovefromone
altitudeto another in searchof pas-
turefor their flockof goatsand
sheep.
At thetimeof theincident,the
familywasresidingin Rasana.Thegirlwaslastspottedwhenshewent
out to grazeher horsesin the nearby
forest.Whenshe did not returnwith
thehorses, herfather,Mohammad
Yusuf,filed afirst information report
(FIR)withthe Hiranagarpolicesta-
tion.Herbodywasfounda week
later.It wasonlyafterthe girl’scom-
munityprotestedthatthecasewas
handedoverto the CrimeBranch.
The15-pagecharge sheetsaid
thatthe entireincidentwaspartof a
carefullyplanned strategy to remove
the minority Muslim community
fromthearea.Therewasa plotto
forcetheBakarwalsoutof Rasana.
TheJammuregionis consideredto
be theoriginal homeland of the
Bakarwals,buttheyarefrequently
linkedwithoffencespertaining to
cowslaughterandcropdamage.
The victim’sparents werere-
portedlynotallowed to buryher
bodyin the villageunderthe pretext
thatthe landdid not belongto them.
According to thecharge sheet, at
leasttwoof theaccusedheldper-
sonalgrudgesagainsttheBakarwal
community,andthegirlbecamea
“softtarget”.
Thechargesheetwenton to de-
scribethegruesome detailsof the
crime.Thegirlwasheldin captivity
for manydaysin the temple, rapedby
multiplemen,andbludgeonedto
deathwitha heavyobject.Thehorri-
fyingnatureof the crimeandthe fact
thatit wascommittedinside a place
of worshipcausedwidespreadout-
rage.ButlocalHindu groups triedto
giveit a communal colourandpolar-
ise theregionalongreligiouslines.
Theyclaimedthatas theaccused
wereHindus, thiswasa ployto frame
them by Muslims in the Crime
Branch.They quickly formed the
HinduEktaManch(HEM)to de-
fendthe accused andmarchedon the
streetsin theirsupport. Theydeman-
dedthatthecasebe handedoverto
the CentralBureauof Investigation.
The Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP),whichwaspartof thecoali-
tiongovernmentled by thePeoples
DemocraticParty (PDP)in the State,
lentsupportto theHEM.Ministers
ChandraPrakash Ganga and Lal
Singhparticipatedin a rallytaken
outby the HEM.ThetwoMinistersDEEPAKKHAJURIA,one of the threemain accusedin the Kathuarape
case,escortedout of the court in Pathankoton June10.
NARINDERNANU/AFP