The Jammu and Kashmir Crime Branch has filed a charge sheet against 15 accused in the case involving the alleged repeated sexual assault of a 15-year-old tribal girl in Kishtwar and her subsequent death following an attempt to terminate her pregnancy, officials said on Sunday.
The charge sheet, running to more than 1,000 pages and citing 143 witnesses, was submitted before the Principal District and Sessions Judge in Kishtwar. It alleges a conspiracy to suppress the sexual assault, prevent the victim’s family from approaching the police and terminate her advanced pregnancy through unauthorised and unsafe methods.
The main accused, Khalid Hussain, was posted as the in-charge headmaster of the government school where the girl studied. Several health workers and others have also been named for their alleged roles in the attempted abortion and efforts to pressure the family into a compromise.
According to the Crime Branch, the girl’s pregnancy came to light during a medical examination at the Public Health Centre in Chatroo on August 10. Instead of reporting the matter to the police, as required under the law in cases involving minors, Hussain allegedly conspired with relatives, associates and influential community members to conceal the case and arrange for the pregnancy to be terminated.
The victim’s father was allegedly threatened and pressured, including with the prospect of social boycott, to prevent him from reporting the matter. Investigators seized a purported settlement deed prepared during a local meeting. The Jammu Forensic Science Laboratory’s expert opinion reportedly confirmed the authorship of the writing and signatures on the document.
The charge sheet also alleges that a junior staff nurse and two sanitation workers at District Hospital Kishtwar were involved in the attempted termination, for which payments were made. On August 19 and 20, the girl’s age was allegedly recorded as that of an adult on hospital registration slips, and unsafe methods were used to terminate the advanced pregnancy.
As her condition deteriorated, she was taken in a private vehicle belonging to the main accused to Government Medical College in Doda. She was referred to Government Medical College, Jammu, but died on the way at Udhampur.
The Crime Branch alleged that the vehicle was subsequently washed in an attempt to destroy evidence. The investigation has relied on witness statements, call detail records, CCTV footage, banking transactions, hospital records and seized documents.
The case was initially registered at Chatroo police station after the girl’s death on August 20. Following widespread protests, the investigation was transferred to the Special Crime Wing in Jammu about a week later. Inspector General of Police, Crime, Sarah Rizvi, constituted a special investigation team headed by Senior Superintendent of Police Sanjay Kumar Parihar.
The charge sheet invokes provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Two doctors and another accused have also been charged under Section 21 read with Section 19 of the POCSO Act for allegedly failing to report the minor’s pregnancy despite having knowledge of it.
DNA samples from the victim and the newborn, along with samples from the main accused, his brother and other accused or suspects, have been sent to forensic laboratories for examination. Reports are awaited, and the Crime Branch has sought priority processing.
Officials said a supplementary charge sheet would be filed after the forensic reports are received and further investigation is completed.
The accused teacher has been dismissed from service, while the contracts of two sanitation workers at the district hospital were terminated following their arrests. Other officials, including a teacher and a doctor, were suspended pending inquiry.
The Crime Branch has appealed to the public not to circulate unverified information on social media and urged anyone with relevant information to contact the investigation team.
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