Justice has been delivered to Asifa, an eight-year-old girl who was gang-raped, tortured and killed in Jammu & Kashmir’s Kathua last year. This comes after a year in which, despite several attempts having been made to polarize the incident, the investigation team did an impeccable job and ensured justice for late Asifa. The girl belonged to a Muslim nomadic tribe, and it is alleged that the brutal act was committed with the motive of driving Muslims away from the Jammu region. Three men have been given life imprisonment for their involvement in the case, and three more, including two policemen, who have been held guilty of destroying evidence, will serve five years in jail and be fined.
The Jammu & Kashmir police deserve appreciation for their honest investigation. Though there was immense pressure on them, the police team cracked the case, and also made sure that they gathered enough evidence to nail down the culprits. It was really unfortunate that a section of the society tried to give a communal colour to the incident. Members of right wing groups even took out a protest rally in support of the accused. They alleged that the whole incident was a conspiracy hatched to defame the Jammu region. But, ultimately, the truth has prevailed, and all the conspiracy theories have been put to rest by the police investigation. The people of India should stop seeing crimes through the prism of religion. A criminal has no religion, caste or creed. The same applies to the victims.