'Can be Raped or Murdered': Kathua Victim's Counsel Deepika Rajawat Alleges Threat to Life
The (Jammu) Bar Association has warned me that they know 'how to stop me'. But this will not deter my resolve to fight for justice," she said.
Jammu, April 15: Veteran lawyer Deepika Rajawat, who is appearing in the Jammu & Kashmir High Court on behalf of the Kathua rape-murder victim's family, alleged threat to her life from the supporters of the accused.
The senior counsel claims she is facing massive resistance from Jammu Bar Association, local politicians and certain "anti-social elements". "I was threatened yesterday with a message that 'we will not forgive you'," Rajawat said.
"I don't know till when I will be alive. I can be raped, my modesty can be outraged and I can be killed," the advocate further claimed, adding that she would approach the Supreme Court on Monday seeking enhanced protection.
Rajawat claims threat from Jammu Bar Association president B S Slathia:
The Jammu Bar Association had opposed the case being taken up by Rajawat in February, a month after the eight-year-old was murdered before being raped for eight days. The lawyers' body claims the police is targeting the "local Hindu" youths through "fabricated evidence".
The association chief Slathia on Friday warned of an armed uprising in Jammu if the government fails to transfer the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation. "Today there is a Tiranga in the hands of Jammu’s youth, tomorrow it can be AK-47 and bomb as well," he was reported as saying by the The Indian Express.
Rajawat claims the Bar Association had threatened her earlier as well, when she pursued a case in 2015 against a J&K High Court judge who raped a woman. However, she succeeded in prosecuting the judge and ensuring a jail term for him despite the threats.
"Similarly," Rajawat said, "the Bar Association has warned me now that they know 'how to stop me'. But this will not deter my resolve to fight for justice," she added.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 15, 2018 10:08 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).