In January 2018, India was rocked by one of the most gruesome crimes since the 2012 Delhi gang rape case – an eight-year-old girl from a nomadic Muslim community in Jammu and Kashmir was gang-raped by six Hindu men and a 'juvenile' for six days before she was bludgeoned to death and dumped in a forest.
Five years since the protests, 'cover-ups', arrests, and conspiracies that followed the crime, the Kathua gang rape and murder is in the news again, with the release of a book by academic and author Madhu Kishwar, called 'The Girl From Kathua'.
Kishwar, in the book released by right-wing publisher Garuda Books, argues that the girl was not raped at all but was a "sacrificial victim" in a case concocted by the then Mehbooba Mufti government in Jammu and Kashmir to "legally persecute innocent Hindus to further their subversive agenda…"
Many on social media were quick to call out Kishwar for spreading "fake narratives" about the crime.
Though an analysis of the contents of the book is not within the scope of this article, The Quint feels it is imperative that the facts of the case are not forgotten.
Read on to know what the case was about, the findings of the Jammu and Kashmir Police's investigation, the nationwide protests it triggered, and the widespread support garnered by the accused, who were later convicted of the crime.
Madhu Kishwar's Book on Kathua Rape Draws Ire: What Was the 2018 Case About?
1. What Happened in Kathua?
The eight-year-old girl went missing on 10 January 2018 when she was grazing horses in a field in Rassana village in the Kathua district, stated the 15-page charge sheet filed by the Jammu and Kashmir Police's Crime Branch on 9 April – nearly three months after the crime.
Investigators said that the girl was abducted by the accused under the pretext of helping her find her horses, held in captivity in a prayer hall in a local temple from 10 January to 17 January, gang-raped while she was sedated, and then bludgeoned to death.
The girl's body was found in the Rassana forest on 17 January.
The charge sheet named Sanji Ram, who was the caretaker of the temple, as the main accused in the case.
The other accused were Parvesh Kumar, the village head, two special police officers, Deepak Khajuria and Surender Verma, Sanji Ram's nephew, who was then reported to be a 'juvenile', and his son Vishal Jangotra.
Head constable Tilak Raj and sub-inspector Anand Dutta were also named as accused in the charge sheet for allegedly taking Rs 4 lakh from Sanji Ram as a bribe and destroying crucial evidence.
Sanji Ram, Parvesh Kumar, and Deepak Khajuria were booked under sections 363 (kidnapping), 302 (murder), 376D (gang rape), and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC).
The charge sheet also said that the abduction, rape, and killing of the girl was part of "a carefully planned strategy to remove the Bakarwal community from the area."
"In the course of the investigation, it transpired that [Sanji] Ram was against the settlement of Bakarwals in Rassana, Kootah, and Dhamyal areas and always kept on motivating members of his community not to provide land for grazing or any other kind of assistance to them," the charge sheet read.
While reporting on the case for over a year, The Quint found out in 2019 that the Hindu farmers in the region were in conflict with the Bakarwal community even before the crime, as they are Muslim nomadic tribes.
Farmers who The Quint spoke to defended the accused, saying "Hindus wouldn't do such a thing."
"Sanji Ram has not committed any crime. Our villagers have not done anything. ... The rape and murder of the 8-year-old Kathua girl was orchestrated by them (Bakarwals) themselves," a farmer had claimed.
Expand2. What Did Forensic Evidence Show?
The post-mortem examination of the eight-year-old was conducted by a team of doctors at the District Hospital Kathua on 17 January.
The medical experts said that the victim was found prima facie raped before being killed, according to the charge sheet.
Furthermore, investigations in this regard established that the victim was raped by more than one accused. DNA tests were conducted by a Delhi-based laboratory on the strands of the victim's hair that were found by the police.
The forensic investigation conducted by the Jammu and Kashmir Police concluded that the victim was heavily sedated. The post-mortem report also confirmed the presence of clonazepam, a sedative, in the girl's body.
Expand3. Who Were Convicted?
Six of the seven (adult) accused were convicted of the crime by a special court in Pathankot in June 2019. The trial had to be moved from Jammu and Kashmir owing to protests from the Jammu and Kashmir Bar Association.
The trial of Sanji Ram's 'juvenile' nephew is ongoing, though the Supreme Court in 2022 suggested that he be tried as an adult, stating that there were discrepancies in his claims of juvenility.
"It is held that the respondent accused was not a juvenile at the time of the commission of the offence and should be tried the way other co-accused were tried in accordance with law," the court said.
Sanji Ram's son Vishal Jangotra was the only one to be acquitted by the special court due to "lack of evidence."
Expand4. Protests and Counter-Protests
Protests had gripped not just Jammu and Kashmir but almost all parts of India after the gruesome crime came to the fore. The issue had also taken a political turn, with many seeking justice for the rape victim, while others discredited the investigation.
The case also garnered international attention. Terming the incident "horrific," United Nations' chief Antonio Guterres had urged the Indian government to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Hundreds had joined a midnight candlelight march led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at the India Gate in New Delhi, where party leaders claimed that the daughters of the country were not safe under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rule.
There were, however, counter-protests too, with many, including the Jammu and Kashmir Bar Association, standing with the accused, terming the case a conspiracy by the Mufti government, and calling for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe.
Some lawyers even tried to prevent a police team from filing a charge sheet in the case, alleging that the accused from the Hindu community were being targeted.
Deepika Rajawat, the lawyer who represented the victim's family then, alleged to The Quint that she was threatened and ostracised by the Bar Association when she took up the case.
Two Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ministers in Jammu and Kashmir, Chander Prakash Ganga and Choudhary Lal Singh, had also attended a rally supporting the accused in Kathua. They were later sacked by the party after widespread backlash.
Expand5. The Hindu Ekta Manch & Demand for CBI Probe
Miffed at the way the investigation was conducted by the state police, a Hindu Ekta Manch was formed for the sole purpose of demanding a CBI inquiry into the case. But despite months of campaigning in support of the accused, the Supreme Court rejected its plea in September 2018.
The Hindu Ekta Manch was headed by Vijay Sharma, who is an advocate himself. In 2018, when The Quint had asked him about the Bar Association's support for the accused, he said he had "jaan pehchaan (is acquainted)" with the lawyers from the Bar Association.
A year later, the Manch, however, waned in strength. In 2019, The Quint spoke to Kant Kumar, vice president of the Manch. Referring to the accused, he said: "We failed as we were not able to bring justice to our people through our agitation."
The rejection of a CBI inquiry by the Supreme Court 'hurt their morale', and infighting within the Manch led to two factions, The Quint was told.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)
Expand
What Happened in Kathua?
The eight-year-old girl went missing on 10 January 2018 when she was grazing horses in a field in Rassana village in the Kathua district, stated the 15-page charge sheet filed by the Jammu and Kashmir Police's Crime Branch on 9 April – nearly three months after the crime.
Investigators said that the girl was abducted by the accused under the pretext of helping her find her horses, held in captivity in a prayer hall in a local temple from 10 January to 17 January, gang-raped while she was sedated, and then bludgeoned to death.
The girl's body was found in the Rassana forest on 17 January.
The charge sheet named Sanji Ram, who was the caretaker of the temple, as the main accused in the case.
The other accused were Parvesh Kumar, the village head, two special police officers, Deepak Khajuria and Surender Verma, Sanji Ram's nephew, who was then reported to be a 'juvenile', and his son Vishal Jangotra.
Head constable Tilak Raj and sub-inspector Anand Dutta were also named as accused in the charge sheet for allegedly taking Rs 4 lakh from Sanji Ram as a bribe and destroying crucial evidence.
Sanji Ram, Parvesh Kumar, and Deepak Khajuria were booked under sections 363 (kidnapping), 302 (murder), 376D (gang rape), and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC).
The charge sheet also said that the abduction, rape, and killing of the girl was part of "a carefully planned strategy to remove the Bakarwal community from the area."
"In the course of the investigation, it transpired that [Sanji] Ram was against the settlement of Bakarwals in Rassana, Kootah, and Dhamyal areas and always kept on motivating members of his community not to provide land for grazing or any other kind of assistance to them," the charge sheet read.
While reporting on the case for over a year, The Quint found out in 2019 that the Hindu farmers in the region were in conflict with the Bakarwal community even before the crime, as they are Muslim nomadic tribes.
Farmers who The Quint spoke to defended the accused, saying "Hindus wouldn't do such a thing."
"Sanji Ram has not committed any crime. Our villagers have not done anything. ... The rape and murder of the 8-year-old Kathua girl was orchestrated by them (Bakarwals) themselves," a farmer had claimed.
What Did Forensic Evidence Show?
The post-mortem examination of the eight-year-old was conducted by a team of doctors at the District Hospital Kathua on 17 January.
The medical experts said that the victim was found prima facie raped before being killed, according to the charge sheet.
Furthermore, investigations in this regard established that the victim was raped by more than one accused. DNA tests were conducted by a Delhi-based laboratory on the strands of the victim's hair that were found by the police.
The forensic investigation conducted by the Jammu and Kashmir Police concluded that the victim was heavily sedated. The post-mortem report also confirmed the presence of clonazepam, a sedative, in the girl's body.
Who Were Convicted?
Six of the seven (adult) accused were convicted of the crime by a special court in Pathankot in June 2019. The trial had to be moved from Jammu and Kashmir owing to protests from the Jammu and Kashmir Bar Association.
The trial of Sanji Ram's 'juvenile' nephew is ongoing, though the Supreme Court in 2022 suggested that he be tried as an adult, stating that there were discrepancies in his claims of juvenility.
"It is held that the respondent accused was not a juvenile at the time of the commission of the offence and should be tried the way other co-accused were tried in accordance with law," the court said.
Sanji Ram's son Vishal Jangotra was the only one to be acquitted by the special court due to "lack of evidence."
Protests and Counter-Protests
Protests had gripped not just Jammu and Kashmir but almost all parts of India after the gruesome crime came to the fore. The issue had also taken a political turn, with many seeking justice for the rape victim, while others discredited the investigation.
The case also garnered international attention. Terming the incident "horrific," United Nations' chief Antonio Guterres had urged the Indian government to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Hundreds had joined a midnight candlelight march led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at the India Gate in New Delhi, where party leaders claimed that the daughters of the country were not safe under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rule.
There were, however, counter-protests too, with many, including the Jammu and Kashmir Bar Association, standing with the accused, terming the case a conspiracy by the Mufti government, and calling for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe.
Some lawyers even tried to prevent a police team from filing a charge sheet in the case, alleging that the accused from the Hindu community were being targeted.
Deepika Rajawat, the lawyer who represented the victim's family then, alleged to The Quint that she was threatened and ostracised by the Bar Association when she took up the case.
Two Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ministers in Jammu and Kashmir, Chander Prakash Ganga and Choudhary Lal Singh, had also attended a rally supporting the accused in Kathua. They were later sacked by the party after widespread backlash.
Madhu Kishwar, whose book is now making the headlines, was among the many right-wing personalities who had come out in support of the accused. She had tweeted:
In 2020, The Quint had published a comprehensive story on Kishwar's notorious history of peddling fake narratives. You can read that here.
The Hindu Ekta Manch & Demand for CBI Probe
Miffed at the way the investigation was conducted by the state police, a Hindu Ekta Manch was formed for the sole purpose of demanding a CBI inquiry into the case. But despite months of campaigning in support of the accused, the Supreme Court rejected its plea in September 2018.
The Hindu Ekta Manch was headed by Vijay Sharma, who is an advocate himself. In 2018, when The Quint had asked him about the Bar Association's support for the accused, he said he had "jaan pehchaan (is acquainted)" with the lawyers from the Bar Association.
A year later, the Manch, however, waned in strength. In 2019, The Quint spoke to Kant Kumar, vice president of the Manch. Referring to the accused, he said: "We failed as we were not able to bring justice to our people through our agitation."
The rejection of a CBI inquiry by the Supreme Court 'hurt their morale', and infighting within the Manch led to two factions, The Quint was told.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)