By Md. Ali, TwoCircles.net,
New Delhi: Protesting against the denial of justice in a double murder-rape case by donating shrouds! How so ever dramatic it appears but there lies the tragedy of Justice for Asiya Jaan and her sister-in-law Neelofar Jaan, the victims of the Shopian rape and murder case.
On the eve of the first anniversary of the “sham” report that the CBI filed on the Shopian rape and murder case, a protest campaign was launched yesterday, December 7, by the civil society organizations including Saheli, Jamia Teachers Solidarity Association (JTSA) and Women against Sexual violence and State repression (WSS) in different parts of the national capital.
A student in Jamia Millia Islami writing on the signature campaign against the CBI cover up report of Shopian rape and murder case
Individuals and civil society groups have been requested to donate one shroud/white bed sheet with the words ‘TO THE CBI – FOR YOUR NEXT COVER-UP!!!’ written in huge letters across it.”
All the bed sheets will then be gifted to the CBI in a public rally in front of its headquarter in Delhi on 13th of December 2010.
According to the reports Asiya Jaan and her sister-in-law Neelofar Jaan left home in the evening of 29th May, 2009 but did not return. Their bodies were recovered from the banks of Rambiara Nullah on the morning of 30th of May 2009 in the same spot that a search party including the local police had searched till the early hours of 30th May. Interestingly no FIR was registered for the first five days.
The CBI report of the case concluded that the women died from ‘accidental drowning.’
The civil society groups questioned the conclusion: How can it be possible when the first two post mortem reports (first by District Hospital, Shopian and second by a medical team from Pulwama district) of the dead bodies stated rape and murder in their report, they argued.
Civil society groups highlight many discrepancies in the whole report and the manner in which the CBI had conducted its enquiry in the case.
CBI coverup poster FINAL 13th December
Talking to TwoCircles.net, Manisha Sethi of JTSA said that, “The CBI inquiry is mired in the highly uncertain and contested medical claims of the AIIMS team, allegations of intimidation of many of the witnesses and state representatives and destruction of evidence, the dubious role of many government agencies, incompetence and lack of transparency.”
Advocates of justice for the victims of Shopian case also refer to the several supplementary charge-sheets which the CBI filed against the State prosecutors, doctors, advocates for the complainant, advocates demanding justice and the family members of the women.
They further refer to many discrepancies in the CBI report. For instance, the report, they say, does not explain as to how the bodies of the two women were invisible to the search party the whole night and appeared suddenly at dawn and how these young women drowned in a shallow, two-feet deep Nullah where no deaths have taken place before.
In a statement Saheli, JTSA and WSS have pointed out, “through this action we want the Home Ministry and the CBI to be aware that we will continue to DEMAND JUSTICE FOR NEELOFAR AND ASIYA, for all women of Jammu & Kashmir and for all women of India.”