Cops involved in Shopian rape, murder: J&K govt

SRINAGAR: The Jammu & Kashmir government on Friday admitted that the police had a hand in the rape and murder of two women in Shopian town in May.

The report, which was submitted to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on July 8 by Justice (retd) Muzzafar Jan, was vetted by the state law department before taking the decision.

Kashmir Valley has been seething after a 17-year-old girl and her 22-year-old sister-in-law were found dead in a stream on May 30 in Shopian. The police and the state government first said the women had drowned.

The four suspended police officers in connection with the case will be treated as accused and interrogated by the Special Investigating Team set up by the state government.

State finance minister Abdul Rahim Rather changed his government's stand and told a press conference in Srinagar that a judicial probe had implicated the state police in the murders.

Accepting the judicial commission's recommendation, the state government also announced that a separate case would be registered against the former SP of Shopian Javed Iqbal for allegedly lying on oath before the Commission. Besides Iqbal, the one-member Commission said DySP Rohit Baskota, SHO Shafiq Ahmed and Sub-inspector Gazi Abdul Rehman were also responsible for destruction of evidence.

Rather said a complaint had been filed against four police officials for destruction of evidence in the deaths. The state government urged people in the state to remain calm and assured them those found guilty of the murders won���t be spared.

Two people have been killed and more than 400 others injured in numerous angry protests and clashes between demonstrators and police, especially in Shopian, 60 kms from Srinagar.