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| SP Javed, SFL head among 5 officials suspended for lapses | | Jan Commission confirms rape and murder of 2 women, doesn’t identify culprits | | Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
SRINAGAR, Jun 22: On 23rd day of continuous shutdown in Shopian, Government has today ordered immediate suspension of four Police officers, including then SP Shopian Javed Iqbal Matoo, as also head of Home Department’s Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), for their inefficient handling of the matter of rape and murder of two young women on May 29th. One-man Commission of Inquiry, comprising Justice (Retired) Muzaffar Jan, had recommended suspension of the identified officials as also departmental inquiry into their conduct in its interim report that was submitted to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah here last evening.
Official sources revealed to Early Times that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who is also holding the portfolio of the state Home Minister, studied all 135 pages of Jan Commission’s interim report, held detailed discussions with senior officials, including Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary Home and Director General of Police and finally ordered suspension of all the four Police officers and Scientific Officer of the Home Department’s FSL who had been all held guilty of inefficient and unprofessional handling of the entire episode of rape and murder of the two young women followed by the process of their autopsy.
Subsequently, Home Department today issued Order numbers 527, 528, 529, 530 and 531 placing under suspension former SP of Shopian, Javed Iqbal Matoo, Dy SP Rohit Baskotra, SHO Shopian Inspector Shafeeq Ahmed, Investigating Officer (IO) Sub Inspector Gazi Abdul Karim and FSL’s Scientific Officer, Javed Iqbal Hafiz. Sources said that Javed Iqbal Matoo, who had been lately removed from Shopian but appointed as SP Ramban, would remain attached to Zonal Police headquarters during his suspension period. These sources said that, working further on the commission’s recommendations, Government also ordered a departmental inquiry into the conduct of the suspended officials which would be carried out by IGP CID, Farooq Ahmed.
Informed sources said that holding the inquiry as per its terms of reference, Jan Commission looked into the circumstances that led to the alleged rape and murder of 25-year-old married woman, Neelofar Jan, and her 17-year-old unmarried sister-in-law, Asiya Jan, during the night inventing May 29th and May 30th in outskirts of Shopian township. In the investigation conducted in the last 17 days, Commission established “rape followed by foul play” of both the women found dead in mysterious circumstances. In its 75-page report on this part of the investigation, Commission has referred to statements of witnesses, doctors, policemen and FSL experts and found evidence of rape having been committed on the two females.
Sources said that in its 60-page separate report on conducting of post mortem, handling the situation at the disturbed district headquarters, registration of the criminal case and preserving the evidences, Commission has recorded that both, Policemen as well as doctors, had demonstrated total inefficiency and incompetence, thus resulting to loss of circumstantial evidences as well as rising of tension among the common people. It has, according to sources, observed that a case of rape and murder could have been ordinarily registered at Police Station Shopian on the complaint of family members and residents. It has also recorded that handling of the crisis by the already removed Deputy Commissioner, Mohammad Ramzan Thakur, was utterly incompetent.
Sources said that in its interim report, Commission has recommended suspension of the Police, Revenue and FSL officials besides departmental inquiry into their conduct to know why necessary evidences had not been preserved properly, why the FSL report, which was prepared on June 2nd, was not handed over the authorities till June 6th, why exhumation had not been conducted for DNA testing, why DC and other officials of Police and civil administration had not called on the bereaved family. Commission, according to informed sources, has also recommended that the officials found guilty of inefficient handling of the matter should never be posted on key or sensitive positions in the government.
However, Commission has not explained why exhumation and DNA testing was not conducted even after it took over the inquiry on June 3rd. Forensic and medical science experts have been expressing apprehension that dead bodies could decompose and vital circumstantial and biological evidences could be lost. Sources said that Justice Jan’s Commission was working on various pointers but it had not identified any of the suspects in its interim report.
Meanwhile, disposing the petition of a fact finding committee in Shopian, Chief Judicial Magistrate has reportedly directed Special Investigating Team (SIT) of J&K Police, headed by SP Shah Din Malik, to submit a status report and case diaries before the court by June 24th. In Srinagar, High Court Bar Association has filed a PIL in J&K High Court, seeking monitoring of the investigation by a team of judicial officers. As it came up for hearing on the last day of business before the summer vacations, High Court has sought detailed report from the government and listed the petition for hearing on June 29th.
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