KATHUA: Nearly nine months after the mysterious death of three relatives, some members of their bereaved families on Tuesday started an indefinite hunger strike, accusing the police and the administration of failing to ensure justice.
They demanded that the case be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for an impartial investigation.
Bodies of Varun Singh (15) of Dehota, his uncle Yogesh Singh (32) and maternal uncle Darshan Singh (40) were recovered from a waterfall in Ishu Nallah in the remote Malhar area, three days after they went missing on March 5 while going for a marriage ceremony.
Three members of the grieving families, led by Chamail Singh, who lost his son and brother in the incident, sat on an indefinite hunger strike inside the premises of Shiv Temple in Malhar area of Kathua district.
The protest commenced after a ‘havan’ (special prayer) for the deceased, with locals of Madoon, Deota, Machhedi, Lohai and Kund villages joining the grieving families to press for an impartial probe into the incident.
“The delay amounts to denial of justice,” Singh said, vowing to continue the struggle until the truth comes out and the guilty are punished.
He said it was unfortunate that despite the “brutality of the crime,” the government had failed to conduct a fair probe.
“My son, my brother, and my brother-in-law were murdered in a planned way, and their bodies were thrown into Ishu Nullah on March 4. They were found after several days,” he said, blaming terrorists for the murder.
He said the families have been waiting for the final police report for nine months, yet no conclusive findings have been shared.
“The police have failed to submit their report, and even the special investigation team (SIT) constituted for the probe has produced no outcome. We have knocked on every door, from the local police station to the office of the inspector general of police, but there has been no justice,” Singh said, taking a pledge to continue fasting until justice is served.
The protesters expressed shock that neither the post-mortem nor forensic reports have been made public so far, and demanded that the case be handed over to the CBI or NIA for an impartial investigation.
