Jammu: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Crime Branch on Saturday filed a chargesheet against 15 accused in connection with the alleged rape and death of a 15-year-old girl in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district, an official said.
The chargesheet, comprising more than 1,000 pages, cites 143 witnesses and invokes the applicable provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the official said.
The tribal girl was allegedly subjected to repeated sexual assault by a teacher in her school over months, resulting in her pregnancy. She died following an alleged attempt to terminate the pregnancy in the Chatroo area on August 20.
The chargesheet was filed within 60 days of the SIT taking over the investigation of the case on August 29, the official said, adding that the document was presented before the court of the munsiff judge, Kishtwar, who is holding charge as the principal district and sessions judge, Kishtwar, as the regular presiding officer is on leave.
The official said the 15 accused include the teacher, several health workers who allegedly assisted in the attempted abortion and others accused of trying to broker a compromise with the victim’s family to save the main accused.
The case was initially registered at the Chatroo police station following the girl’s death. A week later, amid widespread protests, the investigation was transferred to the Special Crime Wing, Jammu. By then, police had already arrested nine accused, including the teacher and his brother.
Immediately after taking over the case, Inspector General of Police, Crime, Sarah Rizvi, constituted the SIT headed by Senior Superintendent of Police, Special Crime Wing, Jammu, Sanjay Kumar Parihar, a spokesperson of the Crime branch said.
“The team undertook a detailed examination of the evidence and carried out the investigation through coordinated and sustained professional efforts, culminating in the filing of the chargesheet within the stipulated period,” the official said.
The crime branch said further investigative action, including the filing of a supplementary chargesheet, may be undertaken if additional evidence emerges, in accordance with law.
The accused teacher was dismissed from service, while the contracts of two sanitation workers at the Kishtwar district hospital were terminated following their arrests in connection with the case. Several others, including a teacher and a doctor, were placed under suspension pending an inquiry.
