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| ‘Shopian women neither raped nor murdered’ | | CBI’s clean chit to 4 cops, chargesheet against 6 docs, 4 lawyers | | AHMED ALI FAYYAZ
SRINAGAR, Dec 14: Ending a half-year-long drama in Kashmir valley, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) today told Jammu & Kashmir High Court that the married Neelofar Jan and her unmarried sister-in-law, Aasiya Jan, of Shopian, had neither been raped nor murdered. While claiming that the two young women had died due to asphyxia after drowning in Rambiara on May 29 this year, CBI has given clean chit to all the four Police officials who had been booked earlier by a Special Investigating Team (SIT)( of J&K Police, and also filed charges of criminal conspiracy and fabrication of evidence against 13 persons who include a Public Prosecutor (PP) of Omar Abdullah’s government, his predecessor appointed by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s PDP-led coalition government, President of Bar Association Shopian, one Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and five other doctors.
CBI team, headed by DIG Satish Golchha, appeared before a Division Bench, comprising Chief Justice Barin Ghosh and Mr Justice Yaqoob Mir, on the fixed date of hearing of the PIL today and revealed that the agency had completed investigation into the alleged rape-cum-murder of two young women of Shopian within the period of two months as earlier stipulated by the court on October 13th. It informed the DB that CBI’s nearly three-month-long investigation, which progressed with continuous support of over a dozen medical and forensic experts from the prestigious All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) New Delhi and Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) New Delhi, had established that both the females had died due to asphyxia after drowning in Ramiara nullah of Shopian on the evening of May 29th this year.
According to the CBI findings, neither of the two young women had been either raped or murdered, as widely alleged by family members, residents of Shopian, civil society groups, media and politicians. It held as many as 13 persons guilty of creating a false criminal case, criminal conspiracy and fabrication of evidence and revealed that a chargesheet against them all had been filed in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) of Srinagar, which also happens to be the designated court for all CBI cases in Kashmir valley. It provided a copy of the chargesheet and detailed findings of its investigation to the DB and sought permission for an audio-visual PowerPoint presentation in the chambers.
Thereupon, judges hearing the PIL sought a reaction from Neelofar Jan’s husband and Aasiya Jan’s brother, Shakil Ahmed Ahangar, who said that he would not approve “further stripping” of his wife and sister. He said that CBI had fraudulently established it a case of death by drowning even as, according to him, entire Shopian knew that both had been sexually assaulted and subsequently done to death. He said that he had no faith in CBI as it was “India’s biggest agency” that had been assigned with the task of giving clean chit to the criminals. Court provided a copy of the chargesheet to Ahangar and members of Majlis-e-Mashawarat Shopian and asked them to file objections, if any, in the third week of February 2010. They were told that a closer date of hearing was not possible due to the forthcoming winter vacations in the High Court.
Later in the day, DIG CBI Satish Golshha and Dr Dogra of AIIMS gave a PowerPoint presentation before the DB from 1400 hours to 1630 hours which was also witnessed by Principal Secretary to Chief Justice, Registrar Judicial, Advocate General Mohammad Ishaq Qadiri, CBI’s counsel Anil Bhan and others. CBI subsequently arranged a similar presentation for mediapersons at its camp office and Kashmir headquarters at Humhama.
CBI has charged the thirteen accused with making criminal conspiracy (section 120-B), framing public servants with false documents (167), fabricating evidence in judicial process (193), fabricating evidence that can lead to capital punishment of an innocent person (194) and fabricating evidence that can lead to life imprisonment of an innocent person (195-A). It has concluded that the accused had created a false criminal case against those who had not committed any crime.
Those given a clean chit by CBI today include suspended and attached SP of Shopian Javed Iqbal Matoo, Dy SP Rohit Baskotra, SHO Shopian Inspector Shafeeq Ahmed and Sub Inspector Gazi Abdul Kareem.
Six doctors against whom CBI has filed the chargesheet include Dr Nighat Shaheen Chiloo (who had collected false vaginal smear from a number of women and sent it to CFSL), Chief Medical Officer Dr Ghulam Qadir Sofi, Dr Mohammad Maqbool Mir, Dr Ghulam Mohammad Pal, Dr Bilal Ahmed Dalal and Dr Nazia Hassan. These doctors had been part of the team that claimed to have conducted post mortem and per vaginal of the women on May 30th. Dr Nighat had expeditiously told the crowds that she had found both the women as victims of gang rape and murder.
CBI has also filed the chargesheet against five Shopian-based advocates who include President of Bar Association of Shopian, Advocate Abdul Majeed Mir, Advocate Sheikh Mubarak who was appointed as Public Prosecutor by Omar Abdullah’s government in September this year and assigned with the responsibility of pleading the state’s cases in the court of District and Sessions Judge Shopian, his predecessor Adv Mushtaq Ahmed Gatoo, who had been appointed as PP at Shopian by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s government, Adv Mohammad Yousuf Bhat and Adv Mohammad Akltaf Mahand.
In addition to six doctors and five lawyers, CBI has also filed the chargesheet against Shakil Ahmed Ahangar’s cousin, Zahoor Ahmed Ahangar, and another civilian, namely Ali Mohammad Sheikh, both residents of Shopian.
Members of Majlis-e-Mashawarat Shopian rejected the CBI findings, burned copies of the report and shouted anti-CBI slogans outside on the court premises with the allegation that the central investigating agency had fraudulently exonerated the “criminals” and framed those who had raised their voices against the “twin rape-cum-murder”. A CBI spokesperson in New Delhi said in his reaction to the allegation that CBI had completed its investigation with total professionalism, produced the challan before court and it was only for the judge to see whether it was wrong or right.
MMS in protest called for Valley-wide shutdown on Tuesday. It was immediately supported by President of High Court Bar Association, Adv Mian Abdul Qayoom, Hurriyat Conference (G) Chairman, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Hurriyat (Mirwaiz) leader Shabir Ahmed Shah, JKLF Chairman Yasin Malik and Bar Association Shopian. In its reaction, PDP too rejected the CBI findings and said that the agency had only proved Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s initial statement---death by drowning---as correct as, according to it, had been apprehended by the masses.
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