Indian court calls for fair trial in rape, murder case

Monitoring Desk

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court of India on Thursday called for a fair trial in the Kathua gang rape and murder case.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra was hearing the case of the gang rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua after her father had moved the apex court earlier, citing a threat to the family and their lawyer Deepika Singh Rajawat.

He also sought transfer of the trial to Chandigarh from Kathua after the lawyers belonging to Kathua Bar Association held protests and stopped Crime Branch officials from entering the court when they went to file a charge sheet in the case.

The court remarked that the case will be transferred out of Kathua if they find even the slightest possibility of lack of fair trial.

The girl from nomadic Muslim herder family was grazing the cattle when she was kidnapped in January. A week later, her raped and mutilated body was found in Kathua.

According to the charge sheet filed by the Crime Branch officials in the case, the girl was gang raped thrice inside a temple. The girl was sedated, starved and gang-raped by a group of people which included police officers.

The rape and murder of the girl sparked outcry in India, after it was politicized by the ruling party.

Two ministers from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) defended the accused and were forced to resign after massive outrage. (AA)