Communal politics peaks over Kathua rape: Are J-K ministers 'protecting' rapists?

The body of a girl, from the Bakherwal community, a nomadic Muslim tribe, was recovered from the Rassana forest on January 17, a week after she went missing while grazing horses in the forest area.

The 8-year-old girl was repeatedly gang-raped, drugged and held captive inside a temple that Sanji Ram used to manage. The conspiracy was hatched by ex- Revenue Officer Sanji Ram to drive away Bakherwal community out of his area.

The Crime Branch of the Jammu and Kashmir Police has filed a chargesheet against seven of the eight accused in the case at a court in Kathua, amid protests by local lawyers yesterday.