 Muskan Thakur
Early Times Report
Jammu, Oct 12: The government has suspended a second teacher in the case of a minor tribal girl who was allegedly sexually assaulted and later died. The case has shaken Kishtwar in particular and Jammu and Kashmir in general and left a community grieving.
Abdul Latief Banday, a Teacher Grade-II at Middle School Mehjar in the Inderwal zone, was suspended by the Chief Education Officer, Kishtwar. The order followed his arrest by the Special Crime Wing (SCW) of the Crime Branch, Jammu, on October 6.
The suspension order states that Banday was arrested in connection with FIR No. 27/2026 at Police Station SCW, Crime Branch, Jammu. It invokes Rule 31 of the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1956. The suspension will remain in force pending further enquiry and orders from the competent authority.
His suspension comes weeks after the government dismissed the main accused, Khalid Hussain Sheikh, a Grade-II teacher who was officiating as headmaster at Government Middle School Bumalpora.
Sheikh was dismissed under Article 311(2)(b) of the Constitution of India, read with Rule 30(viii) of the same Rules. The government cited the gravity of the allegations and held that a regular departmental inquiry was not reasonably practicable. The order also bars him from future government employment.
The case surfaced in August after the death of a minor girl from the Chatroo area, and Sheikh was arrested. His brother, Tariq Hussain Sheikh, was among the first to be taken into custody. The allegations include sexual exploitation of the minor tribal girl and the accused’s alleged involvement in events surrounding her pregnancy and the medical complications that preceded her death.
The case was first registered as FIR No. 34/2026 at Police Station Chatroo. It was later transferred to the Crime Branch, Jammu, where a fresh FIR was registered at Police Station SCW.
The investigation has since widened. Several people have been arrested as investigators examine their alleged roles at different stages: the discovery of the pregnancy, medical treatment, transportation of the victim, and the circumstances leading to her death.
Investigators have collected medical records from health facilities, recorded witness statements, and examined documentary and electronic evidence. Biological samples and viscera have been preserved for forensic examination and DNA profiling.
Establishing the biological parentage of the newborn boy delivered before the girl’s death remains a crucial part of the probe. Forensic findings are awaited, according to earlier court-related reporting.
Outrage has swept Kishtwar, especially Chatroo, where people are demanding accountability and a thorough investigation into how a child came to lose her life.
The dismissal of Sheikh and the suspension of Banday are separate administrative actions taken at different stages of the case. Sheikh has been removed from service, while Banday’s suspension remains subject to further enquiry and orders from the competent authority.
The investigation is continuing, and the precise role of each accused will be determined through due legal process. Arrest or suspension does not, by itself, establish criminal guilt. |
