SC refuses to change investigative agency, denies protection to witnesses

New Delhi: Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to change the investigating agency in Kathua gangrape and murder case, said a report posted on an online news portal in Delhi.
The court refused to give protection to the witnesses in the case that sparked massive outrage across the world.
Three witnesses had filed a writ petition in Supreme Court alleging torture by Jammu & Kashmir police while recording their statements.
Citing the importance of witness protection, the petitioners had urged that their safety be ensured and had prayed that any recording of their statements by police should be video recorded.
The court, according to the report, has fixed the matter for hearing on May 17.
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court had transferred the trial of the Kathua rape and murder case outside of Jammu & Kashmir to the district and sessions court of Pathankot, Punjab.
An eight-year-old girl belonging to a nomadic Muslim tribe was abducted, drugged, gang-raped, tortured and killed in January, according to the police chargesheet.
The state police’s Crime Branch, which probed the case, filed the main charge sheet against seven persons and a separate charge sheet against a juvenile in Kathua.
The charge sheet has revealed chilling details about how the girl was allegedly kidnapped, drugged and raped inside a place of worship before being killed.