Thaindian News

Srinagar, Aug 12 (IANS) The Jammu and Kashmir government Wednesday said it was ready to recommend a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the rape and murder of two women of Shopian district amid reports of the alleged tampering of DNA samples of the victims.
The alleged fudging of forensic evidences rocked the state assembly with opposition and some ruling party members insisting on a debate on the issue.

According to reports, the Central Forensic Sciences Laboratory (CFSL) in New Delhi has found that the DNA profile of tissue cells present in the slides sent by the Jammu and Kashmir police do not match with the samples from the victims’ blood and viscera.

The slides, said to have been prepared from vaginal swabs of the victims, were drawn from other women, if the allegation of tampering with the forensic evidence is true.

The CFSL has sent its findings to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of police.

The reports of alleged tampering triggered protests in the assembly, led by opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti, and caused commotion as soon as the house met for the day.

Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather said the government was ready to hand over the case to the CBI but a permission is to be sought from the state high court.

“We have decided to order the CBI probe, but we will have to seek the permission from the state high court as the matter is sub-judice,” Rather told the house.

Asiya Jan, 17, and her 22-year-old sister-in-law Neelofar were found dead off a stream in their village in Shopian May 30.

Their autopsies confirmed that they were raped and murdered, triggering widespread unrest and violent protests in the valley. The state government set up a one-man commission of a retired high court judge to investigate the case.

On the commission’s recommendation, four police officers were arrested for their alleged role in “the destruction, dissipation and suppression of evidence”.