Kathua rape and murder accused fails in college exam, scores 0 and 2 in two papers
The accused has claimed that he was appearing for his exams when the Kathua gangrape and murder took place. Jammu and Kashmir police has said in its charge sheet that he sent a proxy candidate to appear for the exams.
An accused in the gangrape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua that sparked widespread protests has failed in his first-semester college examination, an official at the Chaudhary Charan Singh University in Meerut said on Friday.
An office superintendent with the university Arshad, who uses one name, said Vishal Jangotra scored zero and two marks respectively in two theory papers of BSc agriculture course conducted on January 12 and 15, during the time when the eight-year-old girl was gangraped and murdered in Kathua.
Arshad could not confirm the name of the two papers but said their subject codes were 192 and 193. The university announced the examination results on Thursday, he said.
Another university official, who did not want to be named, said Jangotra secured 284 marks in the 11 papers of BSc (agriculture) exams, which were conducted between January 9 and 30.
Jangotra has claimed that he was appearing for his exams when the Kathua gangrape and murder took place.
The crime branch of Jammu and Kashmir police, however, has said in its chargesheet that Jangotra was present in Kathua during the exams. It also said that Jangotra, the son of the main accused Sanji Ram, sent a proxy candidate to appear for the exams.
Police said the girl from the Bakarwal tribe, a nomadic community of Muslim cattle grazers, was abducted while grazing her family’s horses near her home in Rasana village of Kathua district on January 10. She was held captive in a temple, sedated and raped repeatedly for a week before being bludgeoned to death. Her body was found on January 17.
Sanji Ram, a retired revenue department official, planned the crimes against her, said the chargesheet, to create fear among her community and get them to leave Rasana.
Arshad said Jangotra’s answer sheets were duly checked before they were handed over to the special investigation team (SIT) of the Jammu and Kashmir police, which visited the university on March 23 to collect them as evidence in the case.
The probe team also seized Jangotra’s answer sheets, admit card, attendance sheet and other documents to ascertain his presence in the exams.
Jangotra is a BSc first year student at Akansha College in Meerapur town of Muzaffarnagar district which is affiliated to CCS University. He appeared for the exams at KK Jain Degree College in Khatauli in the same district.
Sanji Ram, Jangotra and six other people, including two special police officers (SPOs), a head constable, a sub-inspector and a minor, have been arrested in the Kathua gangrape and murder case. All of them have pleaded not guilty.
CCS University has also constituted a three-member committee to look into the claims of the police that Jangotra used a proxy to appear for the exams.
