Some people trying to communlise Kathua rape-murder case: J&K CM

Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today warned that some people were trying to communalise the rape and murder case of a 8-year-old girl in Kathua district.

However, she said that the people of Jammu would not allow them to succeed and justice would prevail.

The girl's body was recovered from Rassana forest in Kathua on January 17, a week after she went missing while grazing horses in the forest area.

On January 23, the government handed over the murder case to state police's crime branch which arrested a Special Police Officer (SPO) in February for his alleged involvement in abduction and killing of the girl.

Earlier, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) had arrested a 15-year-old boy and claimed the accused had strangulated the victim after she resisted his rape attempt. "Some people are trying to communalise the Kathua incident and vitiate the peaceful atmosphere. But I have full faith that the people of Jammu will not allow them to succeed. Justice will prevail," she said on Twitter.

Her statement comes a day after people in Kathua observed a shutdown with some organisations staging a sit-in in support of their demand to hand over the case to the CBI, casting doubts over the fairness of the police investigation.

The chief minister did not identify or name any person or organisation trying to communalise the incident.