Kathua Rape Accused Lawyer Calls Mehbooba Mufti ‘Jihadi CM’, Accuses Her of Giving ‘Legal Immunity to Cow Slaughter’

The defending lawyer also accused Mufti of leading an "Islamo-fascist communal agenda for demographic change in Jammu’s Hindu-dominated areas."

New Delhi, Apr 26: The Kathua gangrape and murder accused Sanji Ram’s lawyer Ankur Sharma on Wednesday called Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti a “Jihadi CM” and accused her of giving “legal immunity to cow slaughter and bovine smuggling”. The defending lawyer also accused Mufti of leading an “Islamo-fascist communal agenda for demographic change in Jammu’s Hindu-dominated areas.”

“Mehbooba Mufti is a jihadi…She gives legal immunity to cow slaughter and bovine smuggling. She refers to Gujjars and Bakarwals as tribals, who are Muslims, and says Section 188 RPC will not be invoked against them,” main accused Sanji Ram’s lawyer told The Indian Express. He further added that she is heading an Islamo-fascist agenda where “demographic change is a reality” and the people of one community (Bakarwals) are occupying lands in the Hindu-dominated area in Jammu.

The investigation in the Kathua gangrape and murder case of an eight-year-old Bakarwal community girl had revealed that the motive behind the crime was to drive away the Muslim Bakarwal community from the region. The chargesheet said that the key accused Sanji Ram, a retired revenue official, was against the settlement of the Bakarwals in Rasana Kootah, and Dhamyal area of Kathua district. Among other reasons was the suspicion of cow slaughter by the community leading to the brutal assault on the girl.

Referring to the Mufti’s meeting with officials in February when she had directed that the tribals (Bakarwals) will not be dislocated from the lands till the government forms a tribal policy, Sharma said the order came as a tool for the community to use further to grab the lands in Hindu-dominated areas. He accused the Bakarwals of coming from outside and capturing the lands of Hindus. (Also Read: Rape Incidents Unfortunate, One or Two Cases Shouldn’t be Hyped: Union Minister Santosh Gangwar)

Sharma claimed that he has been receiving calls from Hindu Mahasabha president and Hindu organisations in Maharashtra and said that he is associated with the Hindu Ekta Manch which supports the accused in the case as he also “supports their demands of a CBI inquiry into the Kathua gangrape case”.

An eight-year-old girl from the Bakarwal community was kidnapped on January 10, drugged and kept in the temple managed by Sanji Ram. She was repeatedly drugged and gangraped. On January 14, she was strangulated and also bludgeoned to death to make sure she was dead. A police sub-inspector, a head constable and two special police officers have also been charged for taking a bribe to destroy the evidence.