After Bar Council clean chit, Jammu protests will intensify

The right wing activists in Jammu region have decided to intensify their protests demanding a CBI inquiry in the Kathua rape and murder case, following Bar Council of India’s report to the Supreme Court in which it has given a clean chit to Kathua lawyers and Jammu Bar Association.

Jammu Bar Association president B.S. Salathia told this reporter that the Bar Council team was conveyed all the truth about the matter. He said, “We were being unfairly portrayed as communal by some sections of the media and our demand for CBI inquiry is to ensure justice in the case.” The Bar Council team led by a retired high court judge has said that Kathua lawyers did not obstruct justice, while also advocating the demand for a CBI investigation in the Kathua case.It is in place to mention that the Supreme Court on 13 April took suo-moto notice of the lawyers of the Jammu and Kuthua Bar Associations, who had tried to prevent the crime branch officials from entering the court to submit their charge sheet in the case. The lawyer representing the victim’s family Deepika Rajawat told the media earlier that she received threats from the president of Jammu Bar Association and was pressurised by right wing forces of Jammu not to appear in the case. The Bar Council team has rejected her allegations.

The developments have polarised the Jammu region to a great extent, with defence lawyer of the accused Ankur Sharma dubbing state Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti as a “jihadi CM”.

He along with other right wing forces have launched a tirade against Mehbooba Mufti, alleging she was out to implement the “Islamo-fascist communal agenda of demographic changes in the Jammu region”.

With sacked BJP minister Chowdhary Lal Singh holding protests, Jammu is on the brink of a communal backlash.