CBI takes over controversial Shopian case

The Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday took charge of the controversial Shopian rape and murder case from the Special Investigation Team.

Last month, the Jammu and Kashmir government had decided to hand over the case, involving two women -- Neelofar and Aasiya Jan -- to the CBI.

The 12-member team, headed by a deputy inspector general, is in Srinagar to investigate the case.

On September 12, the Jammu and Kashmir high court had granted bail to four policemen who were accused of having a role in the case.

The policemen -- former superintendent of police of Shopian Javed Iqbal Mattoo, former deputy superintendent of police Rohit Baskota, former station house officer Shopian Shafiq Ahmed and former sub inspector Gazi Abdul Rehman -- were released on payment of a bond of Rs 50,000 each. The four had been accused of destroying evidence related to the case.

They were granted bail almost a month after the same court had rejected an earlier bail plea.

The four had also moved a petition in the Supreme Court against the ruling of high court to arrest them and to collect their blood samples to prepare the DNA mapping of the officers.

An apex court bench headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan had asked the Shopian sessions court to expeditiously consider the bail pleas.

The apex court had said that the high court should have left it to the superior police officers to investigate the case and should have entitled the police officers to move for bail before the appropriate court.

The bench had also expressed surprise that the investigation was handed over to the SIT only after the agitations.