Pervez with wife Mumtaz at a hospital in Jammu for treatment. (Express Photo by Arun Sharma)
The faultlines left by the rape and murder of an eight-year-old in Kathua are being felt in a killing in the district 70 km away, that was earlier blamed on a falling-out between two friends over Rs 500. The family of Liaquat Mir, 22, has accused police and administration of being biased towards the accused, Abhishek Sharma, and his brother-in-law Honey Khajuria.
The murder happened in Dher Pinter village near Billawar town on May 1. The village has a population of around 1,500, equally split between Hindus and Muslims. The three accused, including Abhishek, Khajuria, and one Pankaj, are under arrest. The police case is that Abhishek was trying to attack a former friend, Abid Ali, and that Liaquat was stabbed by mistake when he tried to intervene.
SHO, Billawar Police Station, Amit Sangra, says that Abhishek of Mahanpur Kathua and Abid of Doda, both students of a para-medical college, had some dispute. “Abhishek brought the two men to settle scores, but Liaquat intervened, and was stabbed him.”
However, Liaquat's family members see a conspiracy behind the murder, citing an incident from over five…
