New Delhi, December 17: According to Qayoom, by bringing doctors from Delhi, the CBI had violated court orders. The high court had directed that the exhumation and post- mortem of Neelofar’s and Aasiya’s bodies should be conducted under the supervision of the principal of Government Medical College, Srinagar and the team nominated by her.
In its chargesheet, the CBI said findings of the earlier post- mortem examination by the team of Shopian and Pulwama doctors stood negated. The doctors have been arrayed as accused in the case. The case has been listed for February.
The agency claimed Neelofar and Aasiya drowned in Rambi Ara Nallah on May 29 while returning from an apple orchard. It cited a Jammu and Kashmir flood department report and a ‘ walkthrough exercise’ by a female executive magistrate.
The magistrate’s exercise revealed that the shortest route to Neelofar’s house, which involved crossing the Nallah on foot, from the orchard was 28 minutes.
The other routes — by crossing three wooden bridges or by taking the Zawoora Bridge — took 38 minutes and 42 minutes respectively. A witness, Dilshada, said Neelofar and Aasiya had refused tea as they were late and in a hurry to get home.
According to the flood department data for 2008 and 2009, the discharge in the Nullah increased in May for both years.
The CBI chargesheet added that photographs and videos taken a few days after the incident also showed a fast moving stream.
The chargesheet pointed out that Sajad Ahanger, a neighbour of the women, had rushed to the spot when he heard the news. He “ found that the flow of water in the Nallah was high and it was risky to cross it, especially for ladies… If someone had suffered a fall in the Nallah, chances of survival would be remote”.
——Agencies