Tags: Srinagar , Jammu and Kashmir High Court , Shopian rape

Srinagar: In a new turn of events in the alleged rape and murder of two women in Shopian, Jammu and Kashmir High Court today directed that bodies of the victims be exhumed for carrying out a fresh postmortem subject to the family's consent, an order welcomed by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

Taking a detailed view of the case, which hampered life in the Kashmir valley for nearly a fortnight last month, a division bench of Chief Justice Barin Ghosh and Justice Mohammad Yaqoob Mir also asked the Special Investigating Team to carry out a DNA test of hair strands recovered from a vehicle and also send the blood sample of one of the victims for matching the same.

The court was hearing a public interest litigation filed by Kashmir High Court Bar Association (KHCBA) for a thorough probe into the rape and murder of 22 year-old Neelofar Jan and her 17-year-old sister-in-law Asiya Jan on May 29 in Shopian.

In its six-page order, the bench "requested the family members of the deceased ladies, if they so think fit, to allow exhumation of the bodies of the two ladies for the purpose of carrying out a proper and thorough postmortem of the bodies so as to enable expeditious conclusion of the investigations."

If the family agrees for re-postmortem, it should be done by a team of doctors appointed by Principal, Government Medical College, it said.

Minutes after the order was out, the Chief Minister welcomed the decision saying this was the best way to establish the truth "and that is exactly what we want.

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