Police officer arrested for rape and murder of 8-year-old girl in Jammu

News Network
February 10, 2018

Srinagar, Feb 10: Last month, when a nomad family from Kathua district, 80 kilometres away from Jammu, filed a missing report for their 8-year-old daughter, among those appointed to trace her was a young Special Police Officer (SPO) called Deepak Khujaria. A week later, police found her body - she had been brutally raped and murdered. Now, the police say, it was the same officer who carried out the crime.

Khujaria, a 28-year-old SPO posted at Police Station Heera Nagar, has been arrested by a Special Investigation Team of the Crime Branch for the incident.

The little girl was kidnapped when she was herding horses at Rasana village on January 10. Her disfigured body was found on January 17.

The police said Khujaria, along with an underage boy, raped and murdered the 8-year-old after holding her captive for a week.

"We have clinching evidence about his (Deepak Khajuria's) involvement. There was motive and we have evidence as well," said Alok Puri, the Additional Director General of Police, Crime Branch Jammu and Kashmir.

The police say the accused has confessed to his crime after he was confronted with evidence. The motive behind the crime was to spark fear among the nomad community.

Khujaria was part of a police team that had searched the area after the nomad family filed a missing report at police station at Heera Nagar. When members of the nomad community held a sit-in protest demanding justice on January 21, the girl's family said, it was Khujaria who started hitting them with batons. Several people were injured in the police action.

"He was also part of the search party but he was not investigating the case. Now we know what was the motive," said Mr Puri. The investigation has revealed that the kidnapping, rape and murder of young girl were well-planned and the girl had been targeted in advance, he said.

Nomads who have been fighting for justice for the girl say that from the first day, they knew who was behind the crime.

"On the funeral day of the girl, when we were lathicharged and I was arrested, this man hounded nomads and beat them up. Since, Day One (Jan 17), we have been demanding his arrest," said Talib Hussain, a nomad activist.

Earlier, a juvenile was arrested in the case. But after allegations of a botched up investigation against the Kathua Police, the case was handed to over to the Crime Branch. Sources say Deepak had threatened his underage accomplice with the murder of his parents if he revealed his name. Mr Puri said the involvement of more people cannot be ruled out.

"At this juncture, I can't rule out involvement of someone else," he said.

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Agencies
June 5,2020

Malappuram, Jun 5: A lawyer has filed a complaint with Superintendent of Police, Malappuram against BJP leader Maneka Gandhi and others for allegedly indulging in a hate campaign against Malappuram district and its residents.

Advocate Subhash Chandran, who hails from Malappuram, on Thursday filed a complaint seeking registration of FIR against former Union Minister Maneka Gandhi and others for allegedly indulging in a hate campaign against Malappuram and the residents of the district.

The complainant alleged that the campaign against the district was very derogatory and with a malafide intent.

The complaint stated that the unfortunate death of an elephant in Mannarkkad, Palakkad District dominated social media conversations in the last two days but a group of people deliberately added communal colour into it only to spread hatred against Malappuram, which is a Muslim majority district in Kerala.

It also stated that the elephant in question died on May 29, 2020, in Palakkad not in Malappuram as claimed by a section in social media users. Prominent news outlets operating from the South also reported that the elephant died after consuming explosive-laden pineapple in Palakkad.

The complaint also named political commentator, Tarek Fatah, for allegedly starting a hate campaign against the district and the minority community.

It alleged that Union Minister Maneka Gandhi made false and frivolous allegations against the district of Malappuram and its residents.

Chandran, through the complaint, prayed to the district police chief to register an FIR against Maneka Gandhi and others under Section 153A, 120B etc. of Indian Penal Code.

An elephant had died after she ate the pineapple stuffed with crackers and forest officials said that it died standing in river Velliyar after it suffered an injury in its lower jaw.

The elephant was seen standing in the river with her mouth and trunk in the water for some relief from the pain after the explosive-filled fruit exploded in her mouth.

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News Network
June 29,2020

New Delhi, Jun 29: A disturbing video of a Covid-19 patient, speaking his last words, after his oxygen supply was allegedly cut off, has surfaced on social media. The patient reportedly died after indicating that the oxygen supply to him was cut off despite his requests.

The video has a 35-year-old Covid-19 patient bidding good-bye to his family, from a government hospital bed in Hyderabad. The patient Ravi Kumar can be seen speaking out against the negligence of of the medical staff in providing ventilator support to him when he needed it the most.

The video has led to social media outrage as it attracted public attention towards plight of patients in government hospitals

"I am not able to breathe, I pleaded but they did not continue oxygen for the last three hours. I am not able to breathe anymore daddy, it's like my heart has stopped, Bye daddy. Bye to all, daddy," these were apparently the final words of the man, who spoke in his local dialect, and shared on social media.

Several reports have claimed that the man had been admitted to government Chest hospital, after several private hospitals refused to admit him. His ventilator support was allegedly taken off in the hospital, after which he recorded the video message.

The victim’s family shared the video message for the public to know of the negligence.

Reports have it that Ravi’s covid-19 report, which testes positive, was given to family a day after his death, when 30 of his family members performed the final rites, thus making all of them vulnerable to the virus. Ravi’s father has alleged that the test was done on June 24 and Ravi died on June 26, while the report was given to them on June 27.

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News Network
July 2,2020

Lucknow, Jul 2: After a video showing health workers allegedly tossing bodies of coronavirus victims in a large pit in Karnataka, BSP President Mayawati on Wednesday stated that the incident is the "height of cruelty and insult to humanity".
The former UP Chief Minister demanded that the guilty must be punished.

"The tragedy that the bodies of COVID-19 victims being thrown into trenches in Ballari, Karnataka is the height of cruelty and an insult to humanity. Though incidents related to inhuman cruelty with corona patients are rampant but guilty of Ballari must be punished by the state government," Mayawati said in a tweet.

Also, in another tweet, she asked the Central government to extend the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana till the end of the coronavirus pandemic.

"In order to check ignominy of starvation on account of long unprecedented hardship & unemployment due to coronavirus and the subsequent nationwide lockdown, the PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojna must continue not till November but till the end of the pandemic, this is the demand of BSP," she tweeted. 

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