New Delhi: The headlines may have faded away. But the constant fear and grief seem to have no end, says the family of an eight-year-old girl whose body was found in a jungle in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district, a year ago.
The child from a minority nomadic community was allegedly abducted while she was grazing horses and kept in captivity in a temple where she was gangraped before being bludgeoned to death. The case is nearing its final stages in a court in Pathankot in Punjab.
Eight people, including a temple trustee in Kathua and two cops, have been arrested for their alleged role in the crime that stunned the country with its brutality and polarised society along communal lines.
While the law takes its course, for the family, the trauma continues, casting long shadows over their daily lives. “We are still in shock,” said her father over phone.
The family, which migrates to the higher reaches of Kashmir during summer, has returned to the village but normalcy is still a far cry. “There is constant fear and I don’t send my children outside. They remain confined inside the house… How can I send my other children after what happened,” he asked.
He said their anxious wait for a judgement continues. “We lost our girl but I hope no parent has to undergo this kind of pain ever,’’ he said.
The case went through several twists and turns, including efforts by the district police to “cover up” for the main accused, till the Crime Branch stepped in and came out with a chargesheet giving details of the crime.
According to officials, the prosecution has closed its evidence at the sessions court at Pathankot, which is hearing the case on the direction of the Supreme Court. The case is at the stage of charges being read out to the accused before the defence makes its final submission in the case of a child, who came to be known simply as the Kathua gangrape-murder victim.
The apex court shifted the case to Pathankot in May last year after the state approached it with a plea that they did not expect a fair trial in Kathua. The Crime Branch arrested eight people – temple custodian and main accused Sanji Ram, his son Vishal, special police officers Deepak Khajuria alias Deepu and Surinder Verma, Parvesh Kumar alias Mannu, head constable Tilak Raj and SI Arvind Datta.
Sanji Ram’s nephew, a juvenile, was also arrested. His trial is yet to begin as police are contesting his claim of being below the age of 18.
The Pathankot court framed charges under various sections of the Ranbir Penal Code, applicable in Jammu and Kashmir, including 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 302 (murder), 376-D (gang rape) and 328 (causing hurt by poisoning with an intent to hurt).
The two policemen were charged under Section 161 (public servant taking illegal gratification) of the RPC. According to the chargesheet, the child was abducted January 10, killed January 14 and her body recovered January 17.
Sanji Ram is alleged to have hatched the conspiracy with other accused to remove the minority nomadic community from the area. The chargesheet says, she was kept sedated in the small “devisthan” and repeatedly sexually assaulted before she was bludgeoned to death.
About a week after the body was discovered, the government handed the case to the Crime Branch, which formed a Special Investigation Team. Sanji Ram surrendered March 20 after his son was arrested from Uttar Pradesh a day earlier.
Investigations revealed Sanji Ram gave Rs 4 lakh to the police officers probing the case. The chargesheet explained how the police officials destroyed crucial evidence by washing the clothes of the victim before sending them to the forensic laboratory. A supplementary chargesheet listed the cocktail of sedatives, including cannabis, forcefully given to the child.
“She was administered five tablets of Clonazepam of 0.5 mg each January 11, 2018 which is higher than the safe therapeutic dose. Subsequently, more tablets were given…The symptoms of an overdose may include drowsiness, confusion, impaired coordination, slow reflexes, slowed or stopped breathing, coma and death,” according to the medical expert’s report.
