10:06 (IST)
Death penalty won't solve problem, attitude towards women needs to change The facts show that to prevent sexual crimes, we have to make large changes in our society and its treatment of women at the level of the family, writes Aakar Patel in this Firstpost article. And we need to ensure that the existing laws on reporting sexual violence are followed at the level of every police station across India. This is very, very hard work but it will ensure that the rate of reporting goes up, at least to the levels where it is in the rest of the world. After the rate of reporting goes up, the state needs to ensure that it conducts proper investigations (which need resources and cannot be done with the same force or budget) that increases the rate of convictions
09:56 (IST)
Indian students groups in Britain seek swift action in Kathua, Unnao rapes As many as 19 Indian student and alumni groups in various British universities have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Kathua and Unnao rape cases, seeking tough measures against the culprits before he addresses his "Bharat Ki Baat, Sabke Saath" event in London on 18 April. "We, the Indian student and alumni community in the UK, are deeply horrified and demand immediate proceedings against the accused in both cases (Kathua and Unnao). By taking swift and strict action, please show that the Indian government's initial silence and delayed response to these horrific crimes against humanity are not a support of the accused because the accused have some or the other link with those in power." "Prime Minister, you have not shied away from taking difficult decisions in the past, such as with demonetisation. Please take similar extraordinary steps to prove that India's daughters matter," the groups said in the letter. - IANS
09:44 (IST)
Delhi lawyers to hold protest march at 3 pm today Lawyers in New Delhi will be holding a march in protest at 3 pm on Monday against the "conduct" of lawyers of the Bar Association Jammu, who earlier had come out in support of those accused in the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua. The lawyers will march to the Bar Council of India and present a memorandum demanding action against the Jammu lawyers.
09:38 (IST)
WATCH: Kathua rape and murder case trial to begin today
09:27 (IST)
RECAP: Bar Association Kathua withdraws offer to contest accused's case for free The Bar Association Kathua (BAK) on Saturday withdrew its offer to contest without charge the case of the eight people accused in the rape and murder case of an eight-year-old Muslim girl in the district. "We have withdrawn our offer to contest the case free of cost. Accused are free to engage any individual advocate and exercise their respective rights of defence in the court. It is for any individual advocate to accept the brief and the bar association will not come in the way of defence nor will hamper the prosecution," BAK president Kirty Bhushan Mahajan said. - PTI
09:19 (IST)
Congress leader Kapil Sibal tweets on Kathua, Unnao rape cases
09:15 (IST)
Kathua rape case hearing to take place at Kathua Session Court
09:04 (IST)
Children, adults rally nationwide over Kathua and Unnao rape cases, demand justice and strict punishment for rapists Scores of people took to streets on Sunday protesting over the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district and the rape of a 17-year-old girl in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao by BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar. Condemning the government response in the two cases, protesters demanded swift trial and strict punishment for the culprits. Various civil society groups sent invites on social media asking people to unite and demand justice for the two girls. Protests were held at Parliament Street in New Delhi where people gathered under the banner of NotInMyName against increasing incidents of rape and atrocities on Dalits and minorities.
08:56 (IST)
Kathua victim's father to move Supreme Court today to transfer case outside Jammu According to media reports, the eight-year-old girl's father will approach the Supreme Court today to seek to move the trial of the rape and murder of his daughter to Chandigarh from Kathua. The victim's biological father, Mohammad Akhtar, has permitted the legal team to approach the apex court, reported DNA.
08:51 (IST)
Kathua rape case must be heard outside Jammu, victim's lawyer Deepika Singh Rajawat tells Firstpost Deepika Singh Rajawat, the lawyer appearing in the Jammu and Kashmir High Court on behalf of *****’s father Mohammad Akhtar is determined to fight for justice for the eight-year-old girl who was brutally gang-raped and murdered in the Kathua district of Jammu in January this year. "I do not think the case should be taken up in Jammu. I will discuss the matter with Mohammad Akhtar about transferring the case to another court," she said.
08:48 (IST)
People take part in a candlelight vigil at protest demanding justice for Kathua and Unnao rape case victims, in Moradabad Image courtesy: PTI
08:42 (IST)
Alleged conspirator Sanji Ram's family wants CBI probe The family members of Sanji Ram, the alleged conspirator of the Kathua rape and murder case, have said that he should be hanged publicly but only if a CBI probe into the case finds him guilty. "My father (Sanji Ram) and brother (Vishal) should be hanged to death if they are found guilty, provided the investigation is conducted by a credible agency. We want justice for the girl by a probe through credible agency and only such probe can ensure our father's and brother's innocence," one of Ram's daughters said. "Media should have heard us, our side and our fears on the probe by the Crime Branch. Wanting a CBI probe to give justice to 8-year girl, meant to media that we were shielding culprits or creating hurdle in the probe. It was wrong. We always batted for justice for the girl," she said. - PTI
08:29 (IST)
Delhi Commission for Women fasts for third day against doctors advice Demanding the death penalty for rapists, Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chairperson Swati Maliwal continued her indefinite hunger strike for the third day on Sunday despite warnings from doctors. "Her (Maliwal's) medical condition is not good. Doctors have advised her to break her fast but she is not giving up," a DCW official said. The DCW chief tweeted: "The police initially asked me to vacate the place. Now the DCP has come with entire police force with a false doctors' report saying my life is in danger. But I can run for 5 km. They will forcibly pick me up in the night. They are not allowing me to consult a private doctor. What is the fear @narendramodi?"
08:23 (IST)
Kathu wouldn't have happened if state had acted on Kunan-Poshpora, say mass rape victims For the survivors of the horrific 1991 Kunan-Poshpora mass rapes, the murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua has reopened old wounds, reported Greater Kashmir. The survivors came from their hamlet to show solidarity for the minor victim in Kathua. While expressing happiness that Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti is seeking to expedite the process by asking for a fast track court, a victim who had come along with other people from the village, said: "If this one rape has shaken her conscience, why is she unfazed by the mass rape of women by armed forces in Kunan-Poshpora? Doesn’t she have a responsibility towards us also?" "If the state would have booked the perpetrators (armed forces) who unleashed terror in the village and raped our mothers, sisters, daughters and wives; a minor girl would not have been raped. Kunan-Poshpara could have acted as a deterrent, so that no girl in Jammu and Kashmir would ever be raped,” she further said.
08:15 (IST)
Farooq Abdullah wants bill to award death penalty for raping minors Opposition National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah on Sunday demanded a special session of Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly to bring in a bill to award capital punishment to those who rape minors. Abduallah's comment comes in the backdrop of a nationwide condemnation of the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua. "Capital punishment must be brought in for such cases. She (Kathua rape victim) is just like my daughter. Thank God, today the nation has woken up and they have taken it very seriously. I hope justice will be done and we will bring a bill in the Assembly session wherein (if) any such incident takes place, the hanging must be brought in," he said.- PTI
08:10 (IST)
Accused in Kathua rape case The chargesheet lists the caretaker of 'Devisthan', a small temple, in a village in Kathua, about 90 kilometres from Jammu, as the main conspirator behind the crime. Sanji Ram was allegedly joined by special police officers Deepak Khajuria and Surender Verma, friend Parvesh Kumar alias Mannu, Ram's nephew, a juvenile, and his son Vishal Jangotra alias "Shamma". The charge sheet also names investigating officers head constable Tilak Raj and Sub-Inspector Anand Dutta, who allegedly took Rs 4 lakh from Ram and destroyed crucial evidence.
08:01 (IST)
Mehbooba Mufti accepts resignations of BJP ministers Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday accepted the resignations of two controversial BJP ministers, who had participated in a rally in support of the people arrested in connection with the rape and murder of an eight-year-old Muslim girl in Kathua, officials said. The resignations of Chaudhary Lal Singh and Chander Prakash Ganga were received from BJP state chief Sat Sharma this morning which were immediately accepted and forwarded to Governor NN Vohra for completing the procedural formalities, they said.
07:50 (IST)
Protests against Kathua, Unnao rape case in Mumbai's Bandra area
07:47 (IST)
BJP demands sacking of Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief Ghulam Ahmad Mir The BJP on Sunday demanded the sacking of Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief Ghulam Ahmad Mir, claiming that he was seen in a video terming the police probe in the Kathua rape-and-murder case motivated and defending the public protests against it. In the video, which was played during a press conference at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi, Mir is purportedly telling reporters that the locals believed the investigation was motivated and that the main culprits were still at large.
07:46 (IST)
RECAP: Former bureaucrats write to prime minister on Kathua and Unnao rape cases In a strongly-worded open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a group of former civil servants on Sunday asked him to check the nation's "free fall into anarchy" by acting tough against the culprits of the Kathua and Unnao rape cases and the perpetrators of hate crimes across the country.
07:43 (IST)
'Don't know till when I will be alive': Kathua victim's lawyer Deepika Rajawat Speaking to ANI on Sunday, the Kathua victim's family's counsel Deepika Rajawat said that she was threatened on Saturday and does not know till when she will be alive. "I don't know till when I will be alive. I can be raped, my modesty can be outraged, I can be killed, I can be damaged. I was threatened yesterday that 'we will not forgive you'. I am going to tell SC tomorrow that I am in danger," ANI quoted Rajawat as saying.
07:39 (IST)
Rape, murder of eight-year-old girl part of strategy to remove Bakarwals from area, says chargesheet According to the charge sheets filed by the crime branch, the abduction, rape and killing of the Bakerwal girl was part of a carefully planned strategy to remove the minority nomadic community from the area.
07:36 (IST)
Visual of people take part in a candle light vigil in protest against Kathua and Unnao rape cases, in Amritsar on Sunday Image courtesy: PTI
07:23 (IST)
Not In My Name protests launched after Kathua, Unnao cases Hundreds of people on Sunday participated in a protest march called "Not In My Name" at Parliament Street in the national capital against increasing incidents of rape and atrocities on Dalits and minorities. Gurugram-based filmmaker Saba Dewan led the protest. The protest included artistes and students, who vented their anger over the incidents and claimed that Muslims in the country were living in fear. They said the rights of Dalits and Adivasis were being questioned. "Today we mourn the rape and murder of a little girl in Kathua. Her crime was that she belonged to the Bakarwal Muslim community that the Hindutva forces want out of the area. Her rape and murder are part of a larger narrative of communal violence with women's bodies being used as a battlefield," said Saba.
07:20 (IST)
RECAP: Bar Council of India asks Jammu, Kathua lawyers' associations to end strike The Bar Council of India (BCI) on Sunday asked the Jammu and Kathua bar associations to call off their strike and decided to send a five-member team headed by a former high court chief justice to investigate the alleged incident of misconduct on part of the lawyers there in connection with the Kathua rape-murder case. BCI chairman and senior advocate Manan Kumar Mishra told reporters that if any lawyer is found guilty, then the council will go to the extent of cancelling the legal practise licence.
07:14 (IST)
Two Sikh special public prosecutors appointed to maintain neutrality The Jammu and Kashmir government has appointed two special public prosecutors, both Sikhs, for the trial in the sensitive case, a move being seen as made to ensure "neutrality" in view of Hindu-Muslim polarisation over the case.
07:12 (IST)
Trial for accused juvenile to be held separately The chief judicial magistrate of Kathua will be committing one of the charge sheets, in which seven people have been named, to the sessions court for trial as mandated under the law. The chief judicial magistrate will, however, hold the trial for the juvenile as it is the designated court under the Juvenile Justice Act, according to officials.
07:00 (IST)
Kathua rape case trial to begin today The trial in the gruesome Kathua rape and murder case begins on Monday against eight accused who allegedly held an eight-year-old girl in captivity in a small village temple in Kathua district for a week in January this year during which she was kept sedated and sexually assaulted before being bludgeoned to death.
06:53 (IST)
Updates for 16 April, 2018 begin here
23:21 (IST)
Trial in Kathua rape-murder case begins on Monday The trial in the gruesome Kathua rape and murder case begins on Monday against eight accused who allegedly held an eight-year-old girl in captivity in a small village temple in Kathua district for a week in January this year during which she was kept sedated and sexually assaulted before being bludgeoned to death. The accused include a juvenile against whom a separate charge sheet was filed. The chief judicial magistrate of Kathua will be committing one of the charge sheets, in which seven people have been named, to the sessions court for trial as mandated under the law. The chief judicial magistrate will, however, hold the trial for the juvenile as it is the designated court under the juvenile act, according to officials. The Jammu and Kashmir government has appointed two special public prosecutors, both Sikhs, for the trial in the sensitive case, a move being seen as made to ensure "neutrality" in view of Hindu-Muslim polarisation over the case. The trial is expected to go smoothly after the Jammu Bar association as well as the Kathua Bar received a rap on the knuckles by the Supreme Court on 13 April as the apex court took a strong note of some lawyers obstructing the judicial process in the case. The Supreme Court initiated a case on its own record saying such impediment "affects the dispensation of justice and would amount to obstruction of access to justice". —PTI
23:18 (IST)
Never raised questions on police probe into case, says Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief Ghulam Ahmad Mir Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief Ghulam Ahmad Mir on Sunday claimed it was after his demand that the accused in the Kathua rape case were arrested and said he had never raised questions on the state police's probe in the matter. Mir's remarks came after the BJP this morning played a video purportedly showing him calling the police probe into the rape and killing of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua as motivated and defending the public protests against it. "This is an old video. The statement was given by me in March. It was prior to the arrest of the mastermind and main accused, and others (in the Kathua case)," he said. The saffron party has also demanded that Congress president Rahul Gandhi sack Mir. "It was after my statement, the main accused and mastermind, Sanji Ram, and others were arrested. I never raised a question mark on the probe (by the crime branch). I have never demanded a CBI probe (into the matter)," Mir said. —PTI
21:17 (IST)
Not In My Name protests launched after Kathua, Unnao cases; hundreds march over atrocities against minorities Hundreds of people on Sunday participated in a protest march called "Not In My Name" at Parliament Street in the national capital against increasing incidents of rape and atrocities on Dalits and minorities. Gurgaon-based filmmaker Saba Dewan led the protest. The protest included artistes and students, who vented their anger over the incidents and claimed that Muslims in the country were living in fear. They said the rights of Dalits and Adivasis were being questioned. Read more here
20:56 (IST)
Death penalty won't solve problem, attitude towards women needs to change The facts show that to prevent sexual crimes, we have to make large changes in our society and its treatment of women at the level of the family. And we need to ensure that the existing laws on reporting sexual violence are followed at the level of every police station across India. This is very, very hard work but it will ensure that the rate of reporting goes up, at least to the levels where it is in the rest of the world. After the rate of reporting goes up, the state needs to ensure that it conducts proper investigations (which need resources and cannot be done with the same force or budget) that increases the rate of convictions. All of this is difficult, and most politicians know that it is close to impossible. That is why the easy way is chosen and that is to demand that rapists be hanged. The fact that murderers are also hanged and it has no effect on murders does not seem to worry us. Full analysis here
20:39 (IST)
Group of former civil servants pens letter to PM, tells him to 'act tough' against culprits of Kathua, Unnao rape cases In a strongly-worded open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a group of former civil servants on Sunday asked him to check the nations "free fall into anarchy" by acting tough against the culprits of the Kathua and Unnao rape cases and the perpetrators of hate crimes across the country. Holding Modi responsible "more than anyone else" for the "terrifying state of affairs" and pointing out that both in Uttar Pradesh (Unnao) and Jammu and Kashmir (Kathua) it is his party (BJP) that is in power, the 49 former civil servants who included Aruna Roy, Harsh Mander, Wajahat Habibullah, Jawahar Sircar and NC Saxena, termed the present state of affairs an "existential crisis". "This is a moment of existential crisis, a turning point — the way the government responds now will determine whether we as a nation and as a republic have the capacity to overcome the crisis of constitutional values, of governance and the ethical order within which we function. The group has also demanded the convening of an all-party meeting "to deliberate on ways in which the phenomenon of hate crime can be tackled socially, politically and administratively". —IANS
20:36 (IST)
Protests held against Kathua, Unnao rape cases outside Mira Road station in Mumbai Images by Hassan Kamal
20:27 (IST)
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal seeks death penalty for rape of minors Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday demanded death penalty for those raping minors and also blasted the BJP for defending its MLA accused of raping a teenager in Uttar Pradesh. While visiting the Rajghat where Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Chairperson Swati Maliwal's fast on the same issue entered the third day, Kejriwal said his government was ready to make amendments to the existing law to ensure death penalty to rapists of minors. — IANS
19:14 (IST)
Former MP Tariq Karra says resignations of BJP ministers aimed at 'saving Mehbooba Mufti govt' Former MP Tariq Hameed Karra on Sunday played down resignations of two BJP ministers in Jammu and Kashmir, saying it was aimed at saving Mehbooba Mufti-led government in the state. "Both the PDP and BJP are trying to play smart by the way of fixing the match through rhetoric and pre-emptive measures like withdrawing the ministers from cabinet simply to save this government and remain glued to the power," Karra, one of the founding members of the PDP, said in a statement in Jammu. Karra resigned from the PDP in September 2016 over differences with the party leadership over its alliance with the BJP and later joined Congress in February last year. He said the people of the state were going through "one of the worst political crisis in last 25 years". —PTI
19:03 (IST)
Solid case built by Jammu police against accused offers hope that justice will be served There is also a sharp contrast between the strictly professional manner with which senior officers of the Jammu and Kashmir Police Crime Branch investigated the case in Kathua and the connivance of the state administration in Uttar Pradesh to protect the politically powerful from charges of rape and murder. Despite the active participation of at least one police officer in the ghastly crime and several other policemen in the cover-up operation, the Jammu and Kashmir Police Crime Branch has not tried to protect its own but booked them in the charge sheet. Led ably by Ramesh Kumar Jalla, Senior Superintendent of Police, J&K Crime Branch, Jammu division, the crime branch team has also stood firm in the face of a sustained agitation by lawyers, politicians and different sections of civil society in Jammu to let off the accused in the case. In fact, had it not been for the painstaking investigation into the case by the Special Investigative Team (SIT) that resulted in a meticulous 11-page charge sheet the true story of why and how the eight-year-old girl was kidnapped and brutalised while grazing her horses in the meadow would have never emerged. Full analysis here
18:57 (IST)
Indian students from leading universities in UK write to Narendra Modi ahead of his visit demanding justice in rape cases Indian students and alumni based in the UK have delivered a letter for Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Indian High Commission in London asking him to take "extraordinary measures" to ensure justice in rape cases reported from different states in India. The National Indian Students and Alumni Union (NISAU) the UK, together with 19 India-related societies at leading UK universities, submitted the letter dated 14 April ahead of the Indian PM's four-day visit to the UK on Tuesday. It urges the Indian government to take "extraordinary measures" in the horrific rape cases that have been reported in Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh and more recently in Gujarat. "Hon Prime Minister, extraordinary times demand extraordinary measures. You have not shied away from taking difficult decisions in the past, such as with demonetisation. Please take similar extraordinary steps to prove that India's daughters matter," the letter reads. —PTI
18:42 (IST)
BJP may give ministers who backed accused second chance, but some party leaders lobbying for new faces The Jammu and Kashmir unit of the BJP will submit a report to party president Amit Shah within 15 days on the alleged role of two former ministers in inciting people to protest against the PDP-BJP coalition government and defend the accused in the rape and murder of an eight-year-old Gujjar girl of Kathua. BJP sources say that while the party is committed to securing the interests of Hindus in Jammu region, one of its factions has accused former ministers Chaudhary Lal Singh and Chander Prakash Ganga of damaging the PDP-BJP coalition government by seeking to inflame protests against it. However, in a meeting of party leaders headed by national general secretary Ram Madhav on Sunday in Jammu, both Singh and Ganga were told that they could be brought back into the cabinet if an internal party probe found they went to Kathua “to secure the interests of the party and the government” by placating the Hindus of the region who had been riled up that the probe was being handled by Muslim officers. Full report here
18:35 (IST)
Bar Council of India asks Jammu, Kathua bar bodies to call off strike; to hold meeting with them on Monday The Bar Council of India (BCI) on Sunday asked the Jammu and Kathua bar associations to call off their strike and decided to send a five-member team headed by a former high court chief justice to investigate the alleged incident of misconduct on part of the lawyers there in connection with the Kathua rape-murder case. BCI chairman and senior advocate Manan Kumar Mishra told reporters that if any lawyer is found guilty, then the council will go to the extent of cancelling the legal practise licence. "The BCI has decided to issue a direction and make an appeal to the Jammu High Court Bar Association and the Kathua Bar Association to call off their strike with immediate effect. We have made a request and issued a direction to them to convene an extraordinary meeting tomorrow to decide on the issue," he said. The bar council's decision came after its general body meeting which was convened on Sunday in the backdrop of the apex court's notice to it. Read more here
18:21 (IST)
Visuals of protests held in Bandra, Mumbai against the Unnao, Kathua rape cases
18:16 (IST)
Alleged conspirator's family says he should be 'publicly hanged,' but demands CBI probe before any punishment The family members of Sanji Ram, the alleged conspirator of the Kathua rape and murder case, have said that he should be hanged publicly but only if a CBI probe into the case finds him guilty. The family members also criticised the national media for portraying their agitation for a CBI probe into the case as "pro-rapists" and "pro-culprits", and said the scribes were "delivering judgments without investigation". Huddled together under a tree in a nondescript hamlet in their village in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district, Ram's family members have been demanding an "impartial investigation by a credible agency". Sixteen women, who were on a fast demanding a CBI probe into the case, have been hospitalised in past 15 days. "My father (Sanji Ram) and brother (Vishal) should be hanged to death if they are found guilty, provided the investigation is conducted by a credible agency. We want justice for the girl by a probe through the credible agency and only such probe can ensure our father's and brother's innocence," one of Ram's daughters said. —PTI
18:04 (IST)
Protest held at Parliament Street in Delhi against the Unnao, Kathua rape cases, ANI reports
18:02 (IST)
JKNPP demands resignation of BJP ministers, says tensions in Jammu could further escalate if leaders stay in power The Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) on Sunday staged a protest in Jammu, seeking resignations of BJP ministers in the state for allegedly cowering down before Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti after she refused to recommend a CBI probe in the Kathua rape-and-murder case. Talking about the resignation of the two BJP ministers — Lal Singh and CP Ganga — he said people would have welcomed them had they resigned immediately after their assurance of CBI probe was rejected by the chief minister. “The present turmoil and tension in the Jammu region could further escalate in case the Jammu-based ministers continued to remain glued to power,” said Harsh Dev Singh, the party chairman. He said Forest Minister Lal Singh and Industries Minister C P Ganga were mere sacrificial lambs for the BJP in order to save its opportunistic alliance with the PDP. "Not only in Kathua case but the BJP had surrendered each of its fundamentals and discarded its core philosophy merely for crumbs of power,” he claimed. The JKNPP leader alleged that the BJP ministers preferred to play the second fiddle to Mehbooba thus facilitating the promotion of her "pro-separatist agenda" in the state. —PTI
17:37 (IST)
Mehbooba Mufti deserves kudos for avoiding politicisation of Kathua rape case Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti deserves kudos for standing her ground against her coalition partner over investigations into the horrific rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in a sanctum in Kathua three months ago. The two BJP ministers who had publicly demonstrated support for the alleged culprits have resigned, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has tweeted a promise of justice. But all this is only window-dressing after the charge-sheet last week sent a wave of revulsion sweeping across the country, including many of BJP’s own supporters. But make no mistake. For two months now, Mehbooba has been under strong pressure from within BJP to go easy on the perpetrators of this ghastly crime. Full analysis here
17:24 (IST)
Mehbooba Mufti accepts resignations of BJP leaders Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti accepts resignations of state ministers Chandra Prakash Ganga and Chaudhary Lal Singh, reports ANI. Mufti has forwarded the resignations to Jammu and Kashmir Governor NN Vohra, the report adds.
17:20 (IST)
Jammu High Court Bar Association welcomes Supreme Court intervention in Kathua rape and murder case Under criticism from various quarters over its ongoing 12-day-long agitation pressing for demands including handing over the Kathua rape and murder case to the CBI, the Jammu High Court Bar Association (JHCBA) on Sunday welcomed the Supreme Court intervention into the matter and said it has full faith in the apex court. The lawyers' body also asserted its main demand was for the shifting of illegally settled Rohingyas and there were wrongful attempts to project it as "pro-rapist" or "anti-national". “We have full faith in the Supreme Court and we welcome its intervention in the case. It is now up to the court to decide whether it should be handed over to the CBI for further investigation or not,” senior advocate and JHCBA member Surinder Kour told reporters in Jammu. Read more here
16:37 (IST)
DCW chief Swati Maliwal's hunger strike for stricter anti-rape laws enters third day An indefinite hunger strike by Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Chairperson Swati Maliwal entered the third day on Sunday in support of death penalty for rapists. Maliwal launched the protest at Rajghat on Friday in wake of the rape incidents in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao and Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua districts. In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, the DCW chief said: "I will not break my anshan (fast) until the Prime Minister does not (promise) the country a better system for the safety of our daughters." The protest saw a large number of women and children participating, urging the authorities to implement stricter anti-rape laws in the country. The Commission had observed a month-long satyagraha in February demanding fast-track courts and stricter laws for those accused of raping minors. —IANS
16:35 (IST)
Farooq Abdullah demands special Jammu and Kashmir Assembly session to pass bill handing our death penalty for minor's rapists National Conference President Farooq Abdullah on Sunday demanded a special Jammu and Kashmir Assembly session to pass a bill to hand out capital punishment to those convicted of raping minors. "The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which are in power in the state, should convene a special session to pass the bill," the Lok Sabha member said. "It is only by awarding capital punishment to perpetrators of such heinous crime that incidents like Kathua rape and murder can be prevented from occurring in future," the former chief minister said. Chief Minister and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti already said that Jammu and Kashmir will soon pass a bill to award death sentence to those who rape minors. —IANS
Kathua rape case latest updates: The trial in the Kathua rape case is set to begin on Monday amid nationwide protests against the rape incidents in Jammu and Kashmir and Unnao in Uttar Pradesh. Scores of people took to streets on Sunday protesting over the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district and the rape of a 17-year-old girl in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao by BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar.
According to media reports, the eight-year-old girl's father will approach the Supreme Court today to seek to move the trial of the rape and murder of his daughter to Chandigarh from Kathua.
The family members of Sanji Ram, the alleged conspirator of the Kathua rape and murder case, have said that he should be hanged publicly but only if a CBI probe into the case finds him guilty. The family members also criticised the national media for portraying their agitation for a CBI probe into the case as "pro-rapists" and "pro-culprits", and said the scribes were "delivering judgments without investigation".
Speaking to ANI on Sunday, the Kathua victim's family's counsel Deepika Rajawat said that she was threatened on Saturday and does not know till when she will be alive. "I don't know till when I will be alive. I can be raped, my modesty can be outraged, I can be killed, I can be damaged. I was threatened yesterday that 'we will not forgive you'. I am going to tell SC tomorrow that I am in danger," ANI quoted Rajawat as saying.
The Kathua chief judicial magistrate will be committing one of the charge sheets, in which seven people have been named, to the sessions court for trial whereas for the accused juvenile, trial will be held under the CJM as it is the designated court under the Juvenile Justice Act, according to officials.
The trial in the gruesome Kathua rape and murder case begins on Monday against eight accused who allegedly held an eight-year-old girl in captivity in a small village temple in Kathua district for a week in January this year during which she was kept sedated and sexually assaulted before being bludgeoned to death.
Representational image. PTI
The accused include a juvenile against whom a separate charge sheet was filed.
The chief judicial magistrate of Kathua will be committing one of the charge sheets, in which seven people have been named, to the sessions court for trial as mandated under the law. The chief judicial magistrate will, however, hold the trial for the juvenile as it is the designated court under the juvenile act, according to officials.
The Jammu and Kashmir government has appointed two special public prosecutors, both Sikhs, for the trial in the sensitive case, a move being seen as made to ensure "neutrality" in view of Hindu-Muslim polarisation over the case.
The trial is expected to go smoothly after the Jammu Bar association as well as the Kathua Bar received a rap on the kuckles by the Supreme Court on 13 April as the apex court took a strong note of some lawyers obstructing the judicial process in the case.
The Supreme Court initiated a case on its own record saying such impediment "affects the dispensation of justice and would amount to obstruction of access to justice".
A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud was also critical of the Jammu High Court Bar Association, which had passed a resolution not to attend the courts saying "it is the duty of the bar association as a collective body and they cannot obstruct the process of law".
According to the charge sheets filed by the crime branch, the abduction, rape and killing of the Bakerwal girl was part of a carefully planned strategy to remove the minority nomadic community from the area.
It lists the caretaker of 'Devisthan', a small temple, in a village in Kathua, about 90 kilometres from Jammu, as the main conspirator behind the crime.
Sanji Ram was allegedly joined by special police officers Deepak Khajuria and Surender Verma, friend Parvesh Kumar alias Mannu, Ram's nephew, a juvenile, and his son Vishal Jangotra alias "Shamma".
The charge sheet also names investigating officers head constable Tilak Raj and Sub-Inspector Anand Dutta, who allegedly took Rs 4 lakh from Ram and destroyed crucial evidence.
All eight are under arrest.
The crime branch will also be handing over the notices issued to the Jammu Bar Council as well as Kathua Bar Council for appearing before the Supreme Court on 19 April.
The Bar Association of Kathua has already retracted from its earlier statement of providing legal assistance free of cost to the accused and said “after going through the charge sheet presented by the crime branch (against the accused in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate on 9 April) it is revealed that the allegations against the accused persons are very grave and as such this case is to be dealt with in a professional way.
"As such, we have withdrawn our offer to contest the case free of cost. Accused are free to engage any individual advocate and exercise their respective rights of defence in the court. It is for any individual advocate to accept the brief and the bar association will not come in the way of defence nor the bar association will hamper the prosecution," President of BAK Kirty Bhushan Mahajan had said in a seven page statement on Saturday.
Members of the same association had blocked the way of crime branch personnel from submitting the charge sheet before the chief judicial magistrate for six hours forcing the police to present it at the house of the magistrate.
Police have already registered a case against lawyers for obstructing public servants from performing their duty.
The Jammu Bar association, which was left red-faced after the Supreme Court's observation, attempted to put a brave face saying they had full faith in the apex court and said their main demand was for shifting of illegally settled Rohingyas.
It denounced the attempts made by certain quarters for making wrongful attempts to project the association as "pro-rapist" or "anti-national".
The association today fielded a senior woman advocate Surinder Kour who said "we are now satisfied that the case has reached the Supreme Court and we are satisfied that justice will be delivered to the minor girl."
JHCBA is on strike since 4 April and sponsored a general strike on 11 April in Jammu to press for its demands including for according district status to Nowshera sub division in Rajouri district.
"We included the demand for CBI probe into the Kathua rape and murder at the request of civil society," Kour said and accused the state government of forcing them into agitation by "giving no response to our concerns despite repeated memorandums and statements."
