By Arfat Khan
Jammu: Terrible Dec 16, 2012 was indeed the only gang rape in the history of independent India which evoked a united protest against the condemned beast accused. Cutting across party lines, the shaken citizens clamored on roads which brought justice to the brave Nirbhaya.
Exactly after six years, the Nation to United Nation was shaken again over the alleged gruesome gang rape cum murder involving an eight year old little girl belongs to Rasana village of Tehsil Hiranagar of District Kathua in Jammu region.
Tragically, unlike Nirbhaya, the Rasana’s little angel tragedy led to formation of two fronts –The ONE irrespective of their religious faiths drawn from the length and breadth of the country and even across the globe peacefully protesting against this gruesome crime demanding justice to the victim’s family with intact faith in country’s judiciary.
The SECOND, an association of people, organizations, Civil Societies of self styled prominent citizens which came into prominence only after the formation of Hindu Ekta Manch which is associated with right wing radical organization and are protesting for CBI investigation into the Rasana case and projecting eight accused as innocent which has been arrested by the Jammu and Kashmir Police in connection with alleged gang rape cum murder of minor girl.
In fact, the voice of former led to the instant amendment in POSCO Act by the Union cabinet with incorporation of death penalty provision for rapping girl below 12 years besides stringent punishment measures to thwart rape incidents.
The later in desperation only contribution towards the society amidst the Rasana tragedy is polarization in society which led to fear psychosis among the nomadic Gujjar-Bakerwal community residing in pasture lands in Jammu region and their subsequent moving out of the tense area fearing threats to their life.
The minor eight year old girl went missing on Jan 10, 2018 after she reportedly gone along with ponies for grazing in nearby jungle adjoining to her house in Rasana village of Hiranagar mostly dominated by Brahmin community. On Jan 17, dead body of minor was spotted lying in a jungle in adjoining village. Due to alleged involvement of some local police officer hailing from the same area as well as the shady role of local police post incharge, the investigation of case was transferred to Crime Branch on Jan 22 after which eight accused among three police officials were arrested in the case.
Sharing details, a senior rank police officer reveals “It’s sad to see the sequence of events which happened in the state over Rasana shame”. Instead of reposing faith in Judiciary, tireless efforts are being made to project accused as victims, he added.
“Mere for political consideration several groups directly or indirectly having affiliations with right wing groups are making deliberate attempts to paint the investigation into Rasana case as communal only to materialize the agenda of HEM whose members also include Sanji Ram Sharma, named as mastermind of Rasana’s shame”, he added further.
Expressing shock over the findings of Bar Council of India team and self roped in Group of Intellectuals and Academicians (GIA), Yousuf, the biological father of Rasana’s victim laments that none of the team members ever met them. Instead, BCI team and GIA adding insult to our pains met only family members of the alleged accused who ruthlessly murder her minor daughter before subjecting her to beastly act of gang rape for seven days.
The father of the victims alleged “Breaking the precedent, the BCI instead of meeting the victim’s family members choose to interacts only with representatives of Jammu High Court Association at Jammu, Kathua Bar Association at Kathua and family members accused besides HEM activists and on return submitted its report to SC projecting demands of a section of society in Jammu for CBI probe into Rasana horror which has been vociferously been carried by HEM after the names of locals of Hiranagar surfaced as accused in the case.” Similar was the line of action by GIA, said the agitated Yusuf.
“It’s strange the BCI team headed by a former CJ Tarun Agarwal even don’t met the locals police of Kathua as well as higher authorities in state police to aware of the intricacies involved in Rasana case as well firsthand knowledge of what happened at Kathua Court with CB team at the behest of a group of agitated lawyers on the day of filling of charge sheet against the alleged accused of Rasana shame.” said a high ranking decorated officer of Jammu and Kashmir Police.
Even the findings of Registrar General of Jammu and Kashmir High Court on the report submitted by Session Judge over Kathua court incident holds no significance before BCI team, remarks the said officer.
The BCI had given clean chit to Kathua Bar Association despite the fact that the latter had itself claimed that they had obstructed filing of charge sheet by the police in the case in the court, added the said police officer.
Whereas the overnight appearance of GIA report in the Rasana case whose members either belongs to Nagpur or Delhi and having no knowledge about the topography and ethnic understanding of the area where the horrible crime happened is really surprising, said Yousuf.
It’s worth to mentioned here that SC had directed the BCI team comprising of five members which includes former CJ Tarun Agarwal, BCI Co-Chairmen S. Prabakaran and Ramachandra G. Shah, and members Razia Beig of the Bar Council of Uttrakhand and Naresh Dikshit, an advocate to submit a report after a social activists and lady lawyer Deepika Singh who’s fighting for justice to victims family leveled allegations of obstruction and threat to her life against some of the lawyers representing Kathua and Jammu Bar Association besides wide outrage in national media over the allegations against lawyers belonged to Kathua and Jammu Bar Associations for observing strike in favour of rape accused and demanding CBI enquiry.
Ironically, GIA team who only a day ago submit its colourful compiled report to Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Dr Jatinder Singh while demanding a CBI probe into the case has pointed out that the Crime Branch team comprised of two ethnic Kashmiris. It has gone to the extent of saying that the SSP Crime Branch Jammu is also a Kashmiri. Ramesh Kumar Jalla, a Kashmiri Pandit, is SSP Crime Branch Jammu.
It’s no more a secret that GIA owes its allegiance to a Nagpur based Jammu and Kashmir Study Circle(JKSC) which reportedly considered close to a main right wing group and majority of its members either are inspired by ideolgy of radical groups groups or covertly working at their behest in India.