The Crime Branch on Wednesday raided the residence of the prime accused in the rape-and-death case of a 14-year-old tribal girl in Kishtwar, said officials.
The officials said a Crime Branch team raided the residence of the prime accused Khalid Hussain Sheikh, 42, along with the house of his brother Tariq Hussain in Gurinal area of Chatroo. Seven accused have been arrested so far that include prime accused Sheikh, his brothers Tariq Hussain and Riaz Hussain, Mohammad Isaaq of Sangrambhatta, Sonika Parihar, a staff nurse, Farooq Ahmed and Zarina Begum—two sanitation workers. “Another teacher posted at the school and identified as Jalil Ahmed, who belonged to the Gujjar community, had persuaded upon victim’s father, to send her daughter to the school. The Crime Branch, which has re-registered the case, has detailed all the circumstances and evidences collected so far in the new case diary.
The raids were carried out as part of the ongoing investigation, with the team searching the premises to gather evidence and examine material that could establish the sequence of events and the alleged involvement of the accused, the officials said. It was upon his persuasion that father of the victim had sent her to the government middle school Gurinal,” said people privy to the investigations.
In a related development, the officials said the services of a hospital development fund (HDF) sanitation worker Zarina Begum at district hospital Kishtwar, have been terminated with immediate effect following her arrest in the case on August 30.
“This office has been formally intimated about the said arrest…the allegations and the nature of the offences involved are of an extremely grave and serious nature, which have rendered the continuation of the said individual in service wholly incompatible with the discipline, integrity, reputation and functioning of a public health institution,” the order reads.
