Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 20 : A former Revenue official, wanted by the police in connection with the rape and murder of a minor girl in Rassana village of Hiranagar tehsil of Kathua district, today surrendered before the Crime Branch here, a senior police official said.
Sanji Ram (60), believed to be the mastermind behind the murder of the minor girl in January, surrendered after his son was arrested from Meerut city of Uttar Pradesh, the official said requesting anonymity.
He has been put on sustained questioning of CB to ascertain the motive behind the kidnapping and murder of minor girl sources said.
On January 10 this year, Aasifa was kidnapped near her home and her body was later recovered in the forest area of Rasana on January 17.
On January 23, the State Government handed over the case to the State Police’s Crime Branch which formed an SIT and arrested six people, including two Special Police Officers (SPOs) and a head constable, who was charged with destruction of evidence.
Besides two more youth from the village were called for questioning by the CB today but they were left later after recording their statements, sources said.
One of the arrested persons, who was said to be a juvenile, was subjected to medical examination at Government Medical College here on March 7 which opined that he was over 19-year-old, sources said.
The Crime Branch submitted a detailed status report to the High Court on March 9 which is monitoring the case.
The people of Hiranagar, Kathua and Samba had earlier protested demanding that a CBI probe be ordered to ascertain facts about the kidnapping and murder of the minor girl.
On March 8, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti rejected the demand of a CBI investigation into the case saying 95 per cent of the probe has been completed.
Several organisations, including the Bar Association and the Hindu Ekta Manch, had staged a sit-in in Kathua town on March 3 demanding a CBI inquiry into the case.
The Kathua and Hiranagar Bars also suspended work in support of the demand and police action on peaceful protestors in Hiranagar demanding the CBI probe into the murder of the girl to ascertain facts about the same.
On February 27, residents of Rasana village migrated to Hiranagar and blocked the National Highway as a protest against the PDP-BJP Government alleging harassment and mass detentions by the Jammu and Kashmir Police’s Crime Branch. Two BJP Ministers – Lal Singh and Chander Prakash Ganga – visited the protesters and supported their demand for a CBI probe.
However, the destruction of evidence by the cops is said to have played a spoil sport with the investigation of the case and the same was pointed out by the Forensic report earlier.
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