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| SHOPIAN RAPE/MURDER CASE | | CBI gets nod to exhume bodies | | Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
SRINAGAR, Sep 25: Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), that has lately taken up fresh investigation of the death of two young women in Shopian, allegedly an incident of rape-cum-murder, has begun preparations for a fresh post mortem immediately after the District Magistrate, Abdul Majeed Khanday, today ordered exhumation of the dead bodies of 25-year-old Neelofar Jan and 17-year-old Aasiya Jan. CBI is getting a team of forensic science experts for the purpose from New Delhi and the exhumation is likely to be conducted in the next couple of days.
Deputy Commissioner and District Magistrate of Shopian, Abdul Majeed Khanday, told Early Times that in response to a CBI letter dated September 24th, that reached him today, he ordered exhumation of the dead bodies of both, Neelar Jan and Aasiya Jan, whose burial had taken place in chaotic conditions hours after the dead bodies had been found in Rambiara amid allegations that the young females had been raped and subsequently killed. He said that CBI had been assigned with the responsibility of constituting the post mortem team which was expected to become available in a day or two following which the dead bodies would be exhumed and necessary material would be obtained for fresh post mortem.
Fresh medico-legal exercise is being conducted to ascertain the cause of death and identify the culprits if it is scientifically established as a case of culpable homicide as widely alleged by the family members of the ill-fated women, residents of Shopian and ultimately by almost everybody from media to civil society, Bar Association and even Omar Abdullah government’s battery of advocates in different courts of law.
Informed sources said that DM Shopian ordered the exhumation for fresh post mortem after Neelar’s husband and Aasiya’s brother, Shakeel Ahmed Ahangar, as well as Neelofar’s father, Abdul Hai, gave their consent to CBI’s request of the fresh exercise. DM mentioned in his order that Ahangar and Abdul Hai would remain present alongwith an executive magistrate (Naib Tehsildar) and two lady magistrates (Deputy Drug Controller and District Youth Services & Sports Officer of Shopian) during the entire exercise of exhumation and obtaining of necessary biotic material and related evidences if any by the team of forensic experts. He also ordered that the operation be conducted while upholding complete sanctity and privacy as per Islamic laws and rituals.
Sources said that, in accordance with the DM’s order, both the dead bodies would be subjected to burial again in presence of family members and relatives and the material obtained for the forensic analysis would be preserved by the experts and doctors. Parts of the operation are likely to be photographed and videographed as the investigation process is being continuously monitored by a Division Bench of J&K High Court, comprising Chief Justice Barin Ghosh and Mr Justice Mohammad Yaqoob Mir.
According to these sources, immediately after the DM’s order this afternoon, CBI’s special team conducting the fresh investigation on the request of J&K Government and Legislative Assembly, began preparations for the exhumation. Sources said that a team of more than half-a-dozen forensic and medical experts would be flown in to Srinagar from New Delhi on Saturday or Sunday. The post mortem team is expected to have experts from CBI’s Central Forensic Science Laboratory, New Delhi, another fingerprinting laboratory based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, as also a couple of doctors from AIIMs.
CBI’s 19-member special investigation team presently camping in Shopian and Srinagar includes two women officers and few of those who have the experience of having investigation the much infamous Srinagar Sex Scandal of 2006 and Pathribal killings of year 2000. Even as Special Director of CBI Mr Sinha has returned to New Delhi after conducting an inspection of the spot in Shopian alongwith a team of doctors, headed by a retired professor and senior forensic medicine expert from AIIMS, last week, the CBI special team is personally headed by DIG Dr Satish Kumar Golcha and SP Sanjay Ratan, both camping in the Valley.
As already reported, Government has assigned the investigation to CBI through Department of Trainings and Personnel, headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, after a Special Investigating Team (SIT) of Jammu & Kashmir as well as an enquiry conducted by a retired judge of J&K High Court, Muzaffar Ahmed Jan, failed to achieve any breakthrough with regard to identification of the people purportedly involved in the heinous crime.
Turning point came late last month when, inspite of continuous monitoring of the SIT investigation by a DB of J&K High Court, fudging of the vaginal swab of the two women was found to have taken place. It was following a mayhem over the exposure of the DNA fudging in J&K Assembly that the Legislature and the state government decided to assign the fresh process of investigation to CBI. Both factions of the separatist Hurriyat Conference, High Court Bar Association, mainstream opposition party, PDP, and few other organizations have either opposed the investigation by CBI or dismissed it as a “cover up”. However, Majlis-e-Mushawart Shopian, that sponsored 48-day-long agitation and continued shutdown in Shopian over the alleged rape-cum-murder, as well as residents and family members of the two women have cooperated with the fresh investigation.
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