J&K HC directs J&K govt to register FIR in Kashmir Bar Assoc

Seeking direction from the Jammu and Kashmir High Court to the stat government to register a case in connection with the killing and alleged rape of two women at Shopian in south Kashmir, the Kashmir Bar Association (KBA) has prayed that an investigation team be appointed to probe the incident.

The KBA has already rejected the one-man inquiry commission, headed by Justice (retd) Muzaffar Jan, appointed by the government to investigate the circumstances which led to the death of teenage girl Asiya Jan and her pregnant sister-in-law Neelofar at Shopian, which has put the entire Kashmir valley on the boil for the past six days.

Meanwhile, a divsion bench of the High Court, comprising Justice Chief Justice Barin Gosh and Justice Imtiyaz Hussain has directed the government to respond to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by KBA yesterday.

The PIL seeking registration of a case of rape and murder also sought appointment of an investigation team by the court to probe the incident and monitor the proceedings on a daily basis.

The PIL, filed by KBA president Mian Abdul Qayoum, also wanted that a team of the KBA be allowed to investigate the incident.

The petition further said the authorities should ensure to preserve all the evidences and not allow police, CRPF and the army posted there to leave the area till investigation is completed.

It alleged that police was trying to shield the culprits by not registering a case of rape and murder. Police is claiming that it was just a case of drowning, the PIL said.

The KBA petition said two teams of doctors which conducted the autopsy confirmed that they were raped before being killed.

The petition further said a CRPF camp, where the body of one of the victims, was found has been reportedly shifted to another place, and the nomadic Gujjars, who were camping near the camp at the time of incident, had been reportedly forced to flee from the area.