2 accused cops move HC to quash Crime Branch probe

Dinesh Manhotra

Tribune News Service

Jammu, April 23

The infamous Kathua rape and murder case on Monday took a new turn when two of the accused in the case filed a writ petition in the High Court seeking quashing of the Crime Branch investigation and a fresh inquiry into the case by the CBI.

Advocate Veenu Gupta on Monday filed a writ petition on the behalf of Sub-Inspector Anand Dutta and Special Police Officer Deepak Khajuria.

He said, “The chargesheet filed by the Crime Branch is full of discrepancies.

“The investigation was shifted on three occasions from the local police to the Crime Branch and the group which was finally constituted as the Special Investigation Team headed by Inspector General, Crime Branch, strangely had an officer, namely Inspector Irfan Wani, who was involved in a rape and murder case a few years back and had even remained absconding for about three years despite being a police officer. His subsequent acquittal in the trial court for want of evidence is a matter of record. However, looking into the sensitivity of the case, he has the least qualification of being a part of the SIT,” she pleaded in the writ before the HC. The advocate also quoted the post-mortem report to substantiate allegations that the Crime Branch investigation was incorrect.

“The post-mortem report was incomplete as the viscera was sent for a forensic test but when the report was received, a completely new post-mortem report was issued. The second report was obtained by the Crime Branch and the comparison of two reports reveals an addition of injuries on the victim’s body in the second report which was a major irregularity by the Crime Branch,” the writ stated.