JK in 2018: Political tussle, central rule and a horrific rape

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir saw political turmoil in 2018 after the PDP-BJP coalition collapsed, necessitating imposition of Governor's rule in the state and subsequently President's rule, and was also rocked by a horrific incident of rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl.

Though militant-related activities in the state resulted in the loss of lives of many, officials claimed there was a marked improvement in the security scenario in the Kashmir Valley ever since the imposition of Governor's rule.

The political scene in the state remained hot since the beginning of the year with the then chief minister Mehbooba Mufti sacking her finance minister Haseeb Drabu in March for going against the PDP line and asserting that Jammu and Kashmir shouldn't be seen as a conflict state or a political problem, but as a society with social issues.

On April 30, Mehbooba carried out a reshuffle in her council of ministers to fill some of the vacancies as both the PDP and BJP got in some new faces.

The new ministers included Kavinder Gupta, who swapped the post of Assembly speaker with Nirmal Singh for becoming the deputy chief minister. As the new ministers must have been still settling in their new jobs, the BJP, in a sudden but not unexpected move, decided to pull out of the coalition government with the PDP and also withdraw support from the government.

The then Governor N N Vohra, who was six days away from completing his second term at the Raj Bhawan in Srinagar, decided to impose Governor's rule in the state. He, however, kept the assembly in suspended animation as outgoing chief minister Mehbooba had not made any recommendation for dissolution of the the lower house of the legislature.

The elected government fell on June 19.

After completion of six months of Governor's rule in Jammu and Kashmir on December 19, the state came under President's rule from midnight of December 20.

President Ram Nath Kovind signed the proclamation for imposition of central rule in the state after receiving a report from Governor Malik and after considering it and other information.

In January, the eight-year-old girl belonging to a Muslim nomadic family was found murdered in Kathua district of the state. The girl was reported missing by her family on January 10 but was found dead eight days later. Post-mortem report said she had been repeatedly raped under the influence of sedatives and later killed by her tormentors.