Kathua rape: J-K ministers who defended accused resign

In wake of the recent Kathua rape incident, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders from Jammu and Kashmir, Chandra Prakash Ganga and Lal Singh have tendered their resignations from the state cabinet posts.

The ministers have submitted their resignation to the president of the party's state unit, Sat Sharma.

Forest Minister Singh and Industries Minister Ganga had attended the rally which was carried out in support of the accused in the Kathua rape and murder case

However, the resignations are not final yet, as the ministers have not submitted the applications to the Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti, who, according to sources, has expressed her displeasure for the two and has asked the BJP to remove them from their positions.

The party will now review their applications for resignation and decide whether to let the ministers resign or not.

Earlier in the day, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah urged Mufti to take stringent action against the ministers who are supporting the accused in Kathua rape case.

Abdullah further asserted that the ministers who have allegedly threatened the police to not make arrests have no right to stay in the Cabinet.

"The ministers who supported killers of Kathua rape case victim and threatened police not to make arrests, have no right to stay in the cabinet. Mehbooba Mufti should take action just like she took against Haseeb Drabu (ex J&K FM), whose crime wasn't this heinous," he said.

In Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua, an eight-year-old Muslim nomadic girl was allegedly abducted, drugged, raped, tortured and killed. After being missing for a week, her body was found on January 17.

The incident, along with the rape of an 18-year-old girl in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao, allegedly by BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, has caused a huge uproar in the nation, with waves of protests rising in several parts of the country, demanding action against the culprits.