Rape, murder of minor in Kathua an unimaginable brutality, says Rahul Gandhi

On January 10, the minor, belonging to the nomadic Bakerwal Muslim community, disappeared from a spot near her house close to Rasana village in Kathua, Jammu and Kashmir. A week later, her body was found in the same area..

Congress President Rahul Gandhi

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday described the rape and killing of an 8-year-old girl in Kathua in January last as “unimaginable brutality” that cannot go unpunished, and wondered how anybody can seek to protect the culprits.

On January 10, the minor, who belonged to the nomadic Bakerwal Muslim community, disappeared from a spot near her house close to Rasana village in Kathua, Jammu and Kashmir. A week later, her body was found in the same area.

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A special investigation team formed to probe the incident arrested eight people, including two Special Police Officers (SPOs) and a head constable, who was charged with destroying evidence.

Jammu has been on tenterhooks since the rape and murder. The city’s bar association has opposed action against the accused and alleged that minority Dogras were being targeted. While the local local bar association held a bandh, the Valley saw protests demanding justice for the victim.

Mr. Gandhi alleged that politics was being played over the crime. “How can anyone protect the culprits of such evil,” he asked, adding that the violence against the child was a crime against humanity. “It cannot go unpunished,” he said on Twitter. “What have we become if we allow politics to interfere with such unimaginable brutality perpetrated on an innocent child,” he said.