Srinagar
Governor NN Vohra on Monday accepted the resignation of the two BJP ministers who had participated in a rally in support of the accused in rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua.
“The Governor has been pleased to accept the resignation of (i) Chander Parkash Ganga as Minister for Industries & Commerce and (ii) Ch. Lal Singh, Minister for Forest, Ecology & Environment with immediate effect,” reads a notification issued by the government.
On Sunday, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti had accepted the resignations of the two ministers received by her from BJP state Chief Sat Sharma. The resignations were forwarded to Governor N N Vohra for completing the procedural formalities, they said.
The protests in solidarity with Asifa are being closely followed by all over the world by holding rallies and conferences. Besides routine reportage, several newspapers have carried editorials and used the case to draw attention to violence against women all over the world.
On January 17, the body of a minor girl was found in the forests near Rasana, Hiranagar. The girl had been missing for a week. According to police, she had been abducted and raped by an SPO Deepak Khajuria, who was a part of the team sent out to find her when she was missing.
Eight accused, including the alleged mastermind Sanji Ram – an ex-bureaucrat – and his son Vishal Kumar, a police head constable, two SPOs and a sub-inspector of police, have been arrested in the case.
Pertinently, eight accused arrested in the case were produced before chief judicial magistrate Kathua today.
