RASANA || SSP Kathua among seven transferred

JAMMU: Vindicating The News Now report under headline, ‘Chief Minister dismayed over police’s initial probe’ published in its Thursday edition, the state government shifted M Suleman Choudhary, the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) in Kathua.

Choudhary, who was in the news because of a botched up probe into the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in January, was replaced with Shridhar Patil, who was heading the police force in South Kashmir's militancy affected Kulgam district.

Choudhary, a 2007-batch IPS officer from the Jammu and Kashmir cadre, has been transferred and posted as AIG with the Criminal Intelligence and Vigilance Department, PHQ, against available vacancy, the official order read.

The latest development comes around two weeks after J&K Crime Branch submitted its charge sheet in the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl from the Rassana of Kathua district which has drawn flaks on part of ‘shady police’ investigation.

The charge sheet accused two district police officers of accepting bribes and destroying crucial evidence.

The chargesheet states that the main accused Sanji Ram got in touch with local policemen and paid around Rs 3 lakh in bribe to shield himself and his fellow conspirators from legal action. Meanwhile chargesheet also has names two policemen, Sub Inspector Anand Dutta and Constable Tilak Raj who allegedly accepted bribe to cover up the crime.

Besides transfer of Choudhary, government also made six more transfers effective.

Superintendent of Police Harmeet Singh, who was in-charge of Sopore in North Kashmir, replaces Patil, an IPS officer of the 2010 batch, as SP Kulgam.

Shailendra Kumar Mishra, a 2009-batch IPS officer, who was posted in the police lines, has been appointed the Senior Superintendent of Police of Shopian, another militancy hit district in South Kashmir. He replaces Ambarkar Shriram Dinkar, an IPS officer of the 2011 batch, who has been shifted to the border district of Kupwara in North Kashmir.

Superintendent of Police, Kupwara, Shamsher Hussain has been made the commandant of 13th batallion of the Jammu and Kashmir Armed Police.

Javid Iqbal, Superintendent of Police at the police control room in Srinagar, has been appointed the district police chief of Sopore, which is considered the gateway for terrorists infiltrating from across the border.