JAVED DAR

This rare image shows the face of 17-year-old Asiya Jan the day her body was recovered from Rambi Aar stream in Shopian town on May 30, 2009.

Asiya and her sister-in-law Neelofar Jan of Shopian went missing in the evening of May 29, and their bodies were recovered in shallow waters from banks of nearby Rambi Ara stream the next morning. Authorities described the deaths as a cause of accidental drowning, fuelling public resentment. Massive protests followed in Kashmir as locals alleged foul play by security agencies. Shopain town went on strike for 47 days. A judicial commission later ruled out drowning, and suggested rape and murder on the basis of forensic reports. The forensic reports were disputed again, after central forensic laboratory in New Delhi declared the slides fudged. India’s premier investigation agency has now reported that the deaths were caused by accidental drowning, and ruled out rape. The report has been widely condemned in Kashmir.

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