Kathua rape case: Jammu Bar Association calls for protest on Wednesday

Political parties also traded charges over the handling of the case and the issue acquired a communal hue due to the alleged association of the accused with a right-wing group

The gruesome rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Jammu & Kashmir's Kathua district had sparked outrage across the country. The minor girl belonged to the nomadic Bakherwal Muslim community. Her body was recovered from  Rassana forest on January 17, a week after she went missing. 

The Crime Branch of the Jammu and Kashmir Police was in charge of the investigation. It filed two separate charge sheets against the eight accused in the murder case. Among the accused, there were two Special Police Officers, (SPOs) and a head constable.  

"We have filed a separate challan (charge sheet) against