SP Javed Matoo, 3 other Shopian officials reinstated


Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Sep 15: Ending their 15-month-long suspension, Government of Jammu & Kashmir today reinstated all four of the Police officials who had been removed from duty and subjected to intense investigation in the matter of alleged rape-cum-murder of two young women in Shopian on May 29th last year.

According to a Government Order No: Home-1156(P) of 2010 Dated 15-09-2010, issued by Financial Commissioner Home, Government today ordered reinstatement of SP Javed Iqbal Matoo, Dy SP Rohit Baskotra, Inspector Shafeeq Ahmed and Sub Inspector Gazi Abdul Karim. For their entire suspension period from 24-06-2009 to 15-09-2010 all four officials have been treated as on duty.

FC Home’s order stated that their reinstatement was subsequent to their complete exoneration from all charges by Central Bureau of Investigation, conveyed vide No: 1144/3/8(S)/2009-SCU-I/CBI/SC-I Dated 11-03-2010 followed by Director General of Police Kuldeep Khoda’s letter No: GZ/G-Enq/Spn/2009/10 Dated 10-08-2010.

Official sources said that orders of their posting were likely to issued separately later this week.

Then SP of Shopian (shifted as SP Ramban), Javed Iqbal Matoo, then Dy SP Headquarters Shopian, Rohit Baskotra, then SHO Shopian, Inspector Shafeeq Ahmed and Investigating Officer of the criminal case, SI Gazi Abdul Karim, had been arrested and placed under suspension, pending inquiry, on recommendations of Justice (rtd) Jan Commission amid wide allegations of their involvement in the matter of ‘rape-cum-murder’ of two young women, married Neelofar and unmarried Asiya, found dead in Rambiara Nullah at Shopian on May 30th, 2009.

In the wake of a controversy over the fudged vaginal swabs purportedly collected during per vaginal of the deceased by a team of doctors, Government, on recommendations of J&K Legislative Assembly, had assigned the investigation to the CBI in September 2009. During three-month-long investigation, CBI observed that the vaginal swabs had been fraudulently collected by the doctors from a number of married women examined at District Hospital of Pulwama and not the deceased at District Hospital of Shopian.

CBI observed that 13 persons, including five doctors and six Shopian-based lawyers, had attempted to fabricate evidences and frame the four Police officials in a false criminal matter that involves capital punishment. CBI got the bodies exhumed and established in a fresh post mortem exercise, conducted by a team of about 20 forensic FSL experts and AIIMS doctors, that the women had been neither raped nor murdered. Hymen of the unmarried woman was also found to be not violated.

Consequently, CBI absolved all the four detained and suspended Police officials of all charges against them. It also filed a criminal matter against 13 persons, including five doctors and six lawyers, in its designated court in Srinagar. Proceedings are currently underway, though all the 13 accused have obtained bail against their detention from the court.

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