Kathua case: CJM court fixes next date of hearing on May 22

The next hearing in the case of the juvenile accused in the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua has been fixed for May 22 by a Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) court on Monday.

CJM A S Langeh, hearing the case fixed the next hearing for May 22. On April 25, the juvenile presented himself before the CJM court amid heavy security. Langeh had then asked the juvenile whether he had received copies of the charge sheet from the crime branch, to which he replied in the affirmative.

The counsel for the accused had moved the court for his bail soon after the crime branch had filed its charge sheet against him and seven others allegedly involved in the rape and murder case. According to the Crime Branch charge sheet, the juvenile had allegedly played a key role in the crime.

The accused had sought the bail on the ground of his age. The CJM court, however, dismissed the bail plea of the accused juvenile.        

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is likely to hear today the Kathua gang rape-and-murder case along with the petitions seeking shifting of the trial to Chandigarh and handing over the investigation to the CBI.

A sub-inspector and a head constable also have been apprehended on charges of destroying crucial evidence in the case to save the culprits. The body of the girl was recovered from a forest on January 17, a week after she had gone missing.

The Jammu and Kashmir government had handed over the case to the crime branch, which formed a special investigation team to probe the rape-cum-murder.

The crime branch subsequently filed two separate charge sheets in the case, one against the seven adult accused on April 9 and the second against the juvenile accused on April 10.

(With inputs from agencies)