Kathua rape-murder: Resignation of Kashmir ministers accepted (Roundup)
Jammu, April 14: The BJP on Saturday accepted the resignation of two of its ministers from the Jammu and Kashmir coalition government but said their unwise move to go and pacify people rallying for suspects of rape and murder of a minor was "mistaken for trying to shield the accused".
BJP General Secretary and its Kashmir pointsman Ram Madhav, who was here to attend the party's legislature meet, ruled out any threat to the ruling alliance in the wake of the resignations by the two ministers - Choudhary Lal Singh and Chander Prakash Ganga.
He said the resignation letters were now being forwarded to Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti.
Madhav, largely credited for stitching together the ruling combine of the BJP and the PDP, denied that the two ministers had been asked to resign following pressure from its senior partner in the government.
"There is no question of any pressure. These two ministers had gone to pacify the people, but subsequently their presence was mistaken for trying to shield the accused. They had never supported the accused.
"Yes, there has been indiscretion and it is for this that they decided to step down," he told reporters after the BJP legislature party meeting.
The BJP General Secretary said the development would have no bearing on the alliance as both the parties were working in coordination..
He said the investigations had been completed by the state Crime Branch and a charge sheet had been presented in the court.
"The BJP wants justice for the victim and there are no two opinions on that. There was never any confusion on this principled stand of the party."
Asked about the demand for a CBI probe into the incident, the BJP leader said: "It is now for the court to decide."
Singh and Ganga had attracted widespread anger and criticism for attending a meeting of the Hindu Ekta Manch, a lose group formed to support the accused, which demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the case.
The meeting in Hiranagar area of Kathua district was called in support of the accused in the brutal gang rape and murder of an eight-year-old whose body was recovered from a forested area near her home, days after she went missing on January 10.
Mehbooba Mufti also chaired a meeting of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) legislators and senior ministers in Srinagar.
After the meeting, Works Minister and senior PDP leader Naeem Ahkar, who is also the government spokesperson, "appreciated" the BJP support in the handling of the case which had caused fissures in the alliance.
Akhtar told reporters that PDP appreciated the support of the BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and BJP chief Amit Shah in the case.
"We appreciate our alliance partner who helped us in this case. They made the two ministers resign. I see that as a confidence building measure. And if PDP and BJP continue to resolve their issues like this, I see there is no substitute to this alliance," he said.
Meanwhile, Mehbooba Mufti, who also holds the Home portfolio, terminated the services of a sub-inspector, a head constable and two Special Police Officers (SPOs) accused in the crime.
She was said to have written to the Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court, seeking a fast track court to conclude within 90 days the trial in the case that has caused a nation-wide outrage, official sources said here.
According to police charges, the minor from the nomad Bakerwal community was kidnapped on January 10. She taken to a temple in Rasana village in Kathua district.
Her attackers, which included temple official and policemen, drugged and gang raped her over days before finally killing her and dumping her body in a forest nearby, seven days later.
The girl was attacked to scare away the nomadic Muslim community out of the village.
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Suspected drones observed along IB in Jammu's Samba, being engaged: Army
Jammu, May 12 (PTI): Security forces are engaging suspected drones observed along the International Border in Samba district of Jammu region on Monday, an Army said.
This fresh incident of drone activity along the borderline comes barely hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first address to the nation following Operation Sindoor and the meeting of the DGMOs of India and Pakistan.
The Army, however, said there is no need to be alarmed.
“A small number of suspected drones have been observed near Samba in J&K. They are being engaged,” it said.
In the backdrop of the situation, several areas witnessed blackouts in Samba, Kathua, Rajouri, and Jammu.
Lights were switched off at the cave shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi and along its track as a precautionary measure, sources said.
On Monday, talks between the DGMOs were held during which issues related to the continuing commitment that both sides must not fire a single shot or initiate any aggressive or inimical action against each other were discussed, the Indian Army said.
It was also agreed that both sides would consider immediate measures to ensure troop reduction along the borders and in forward areas, it added.
The situation remained largely peaceful across Jammu and Kashmir, with no incidents of ceasefire violation reported along the Indo-Pak border Sunday overnight — marking the first calm night after 18 days of hostilities following the Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 people — mostly tourists — dead.
India and Pakistan on Saturday reached an understanding to cease all firing and military actions on land, air, and sea with immediate effect, following four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes that brought the two countries to the brink of full-scale war.
Eighteen days of intense hostilities following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, which brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war, ended with a ceasefire that restored calm along the Line of Control, the International Border, and the hinterland in Jammu and Kashmir. The Army thwarted Pakistan’s Hamas-style kamikaze drone attacks during the escalation.
Since the night of April 24, hours after India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, Pakistani troops repeatedly targeted Indian positions along the LoC — beginning in the Kashmir Valley and quickly expanding to the Jammu region.
The latest hostilities began in the northern districts of Kupwara and Baramulla in the Kashmir Valley, before spreading southwards to Rajouri, Poonch, Akhnoor, and the Pargwal sector along the International Border in Jammu district. The firing affected five border districts — Baramulla, Kupwara, Poonch, Rajouri, and Jammu.
The recent round of cross-border firing further undermined the ceasefire agreement reached in February 2021, which has largely been seen as ineffective due to Pakistan’s frequent violations along the 740-km-long LoC.
The April 22 terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 people — mostly tourists — in Pahalgam’s Baisaran valley, triggered a strong response from the central government.
The India-Pakistan border stretches over 3,300 kilometers, divided into three segments: the International Border (IB), spanning about 2,400 km from Gujarat to Akhnoor in Jammu; the 740-km-long Line of Control (LoC) that divides Jammu and Kashmir; and the 110-km-long Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL), which separates the Siachen Glacier region.
WATCH: OP Sindoor continues. Minutes after PM Speech.
— Rahul Shivshankar (@RShivshankar) May 12, 2025
A small numbers of suspected drones being observed near Samba in J&K. Being engaged . pic.twitter.com/jmGmRkmQ26
