The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh will hear on Monday a plea seeking a Crime Branch probe into the death of a 15-year-old tribal girl, who was allegedly sexual exploited by her school teacher.The petition was filed on behalf of the girl's father, a resident of Chatroo village in Kishtwar district, by senior advocate Deepika Pushkar Nath on Saturday.
"The matter has been listed for hearing on Monday," Nath told .
She said the plea seeks transfer of the investigation to the Crime Branch for an independent probe into the entire sequence of events proceeding the minor's death on August 20, including an alleged panchayat intervention and attempt to pressure her father for a compromise.
Police have constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the incident and have so far arrested six persons, including the school headmaster, who is the main accused, a nurse, and a daily-wage sanitary worker posted at District Hospital Kishtwar. The government has suspended the teacher, while the daily-wage worker has been dismissed from service.
"We have sought an independent investigation not only into the alleged rape of the minor but also into the entire chain of events that followed, leading to her death.
The alleged Panchayat intervention, the pressure exerted on the victim's father to compromise the matter, and the role of other persons who may have facilitated or attempted to suppress the case require thorough investigation," Nath said.
She said the alleged intervention of the panchayat is an important aspect requiring urgent scrutiny, particularly the allegations that the girl's impoverished and illiterate father was pressured to compromise the matter, offered money to remain silent and allegedly made to affix his thumb impression on a blank paper.
"These allegations cannot be treated as an isolated or incidental episode, particularly when they arose after the minor's pregnancy came to light," she said.
According to the petition, after the pregnancy became known, people allegedly associated with the principal accused became involved and a panchayat was convened.
The petitioner alleged that he was "chastised and pressured" to remain silent and accept a compromise, while money was allegedly offered in return.
He stated that he rejected the proposed compromise and insisted that the accused and others be proceeded against in accordance with law.
The petition further alleged that the father was subsequently made to put his thumb impression on a blank document under duress, without knowing what was written on or made out of it.
The plea sought identification and examination of all persons present at the panchayat, the circumstances in which the document was prepared and the thumb impression obtained, and the alleged source and purpose of the money offered.
The plea alleged that the girl was sexually exploited by the principal accused for months together resulting in her pregnancy. The family said they came to know of the pregnancy only when the minor developed a serious medical condition.
The petition thereafter traces a series of events involving her examination at Public Health Centre at Chatroo, ultrasound at Kishtwar, treatment at District Hospital Kishtwar, transfer to Doda, delivery of a dead male child and subsequent transportation towards Punjab, culminating in her death.
It sought investigation into the alleged attempts to terminate the pregnancy, the procurement and administration of medicines, the role of persons who transported or accompanied the minor, the treatment provided at different health facilities and the circumstances surrounding her death.
Nath said the petition also seeks preservation and examination of hospital records, ultrasound reports, medical prescriptions, ambulance records, GPS/location data, CCTV footage, call-detail records, electronic communications, financial records and forensic/DNA evidence.
It also seeks scrutiny of the alleged circumstances in which the minor was recorded in hospital records as the wife of a 13-year-old boy, and the identification of the person or persons responsible for furnishing such information.
The petitioner has additionally sought examination of possible administrative, institutional or statutory lapses concerning the safety of the minor at the school and the handling and reporting of the matter after her pregnancy came to light.