9 months on, Kathua family begins hunger strike over lax probe into 3 mysterious deaths

Nearly nine months after the mysterious death of three relatives, members of the bereaved families on Tuesday launched an indefinite hunger strike in Kathua district, accusing the police and the administration of failing to deliver justice. They demanded that the case be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for an impartial probe.

On March 8, the bodies of Varun Singh (15) of Dehota, his uncle Yogesh Singh (32), and maternal uncle Darshan Singh (40) were recovered near a waterfall in the remote Malhar area—three days after they went missing on March 5 while on their way to attend a marriage ceremony. It was suspected that they were killed by Pakistani terrorists active in the region, which lies along a traditional infiltration route used after entering Indian territory from the International Border in Kathua.

Three members of the grieving families, led by Chamail Singh—who lost his son and brother in the incident—sat on an indefinite hunger strike inside the premises of the Shiv Temple in Malhar. The protest began after special prayers were offered at the temple for the deceased. Locals from adjoining villages, including Madoon, Deota, Machhedi, Lohai and Kund, joined the families in demanding a CBI probe.

“The delay amounts to denial of justice,” Chamail Singh said, vowing to continue the struggle until the truth is uncovered and the guilty are punished. He added that despite the “brutality of the crime,” the government had failed to conduct a fair and transparent investigation.

Speaking to mediapersons, Singh said the authorities had been unable to deliver justice and that it was time for the CBI to take over the case. “My son, my brother, and my brother-in-law were murdered in a planned manner, and their bodies were thrown into Ishu Nullah. They were found after several days,” he said, blaming terrorists for the killings.

He noted that although a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was constituted to investigate the matter, no final report has been submitted so far. “The police have failed to submit their report. We have been waiting for a long time and running from pillar to post to get justice,” he added.

The protesters also expressed shock that neither the post-mortem nor forensic reports have been made public. Alleging that the matter was being hushed up for unknown reasons, they reiterated their demand for the case to be transferred to the CBI or NIA for a fair and impartial investigation.