Kathua rape-murder Case: Policeman, SPO move J&K HC seeking fresh probe
Kathua rape-murder: Policeman, SPO move J&K HC seeking fresh probe A policeman and a Special Police Officer (SPO) arrested in connection with the Kathua rape and murder case have moved the Jammu and Kashmir High Court seeking a fresh CBI probe and quashing of the investigation by the state crime branch. In the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua district, Sub-Inspector Anand Dutta and Special Police Officer (SPO) Deepak Khajuria were arrested for allegedly destroying evidence. A petition was filed in the high court on Monday by their counsel Veenu Gupta. It is strange that a policeman, who was involved in a rape and murder case a few years ago and evaded arrest for three years despite being an officer, was a member of the SIT, the petition said. The officer’s subsequent acquittal in a trial court for lack of evidence is a matter of record, it said. The petition said there were huge differences in the post-mortem and forensic reports and stated that the crime branch probe was incorrect. The petitioners also said that the SIT had tampered and planted the evidence. They alleged that the main aim of the probe was to facilitate encroachment of government land by tribal people. On January 23, the government had handed over the case to the crime branch that formed the SIT and arrested eight people, including the sub-inspector and the SPO, who were charged with destruction of evidence. -PTC News
