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Murderers of Asifa must be sentenced to full brunt of the law
We lauded the verdict on the six men who have been convicted in the case of gang rape and murder of Asifa Bano, a young girl from a Muslim, nomadic tribe in 2018.
The special court in Pathankot in India’s northern state of Punjab on Monday found the men guilty of the rape and murder of the eight-year-old girl in Kathua village of Indian administered Kashmir last year.
The barbarity of the case came to the fore in a 16-page charge sheet presented by the crime branch.
The investigation had revealed that the rape and murder were systematic, preplanned and rooted in religious hatred harbored by Sanji Ram, a Hindu, against the Muslim nomadic community of Bakarwals – a tribal community.
We call for a maximum sentence on the murderers.
The crime is atrociously intended to drive the minority Muslim community out of the village.
The barbarity is despicable as reported by the police. The defenseless girl was kept in captivity inside a temple, heavily sedated and gang-raped by at least three men over the course of four days.
She was an “innocent budding flower, a child of only eight years of age, who being a small kid became a soft target”.
The crime became more hateful, as stated in the police report that it was rooted in a conspiracy and the girl’s rape and killing were the means to an end – create fear among the Muslim nomadic Bakarwal community and force them to leave.
We are appalled by the three police officers who were found to be involved in destroying the evidence. They must be prosecuted for the offense.
We condemn the 2 ministers from India’s ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) who rallied in support of the accused.
This is a case that exposes how religious minority groups, particularly Muslims, face increasing threats by Hindu groups in India.
India cannot persist in the policy of persecution of Muslims base on hatred and anti-Muslims campaign. The almost 200 million Muslims citizens of India cannot be seen as enemies in the nation.
We demand the Indian government to stop the policy of allowing Muslims to be the target of religious hatred agenda by the RSS Hindu hardliners.
By: Mohd Azmi Abdul Hamid
President Malaysian Consultative Council of Islamic Organization
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of The Leaders Online.
