Jammu: The lone woman police officer in Special Investigative Team (SIT) of the Crime Branch that is investigating the gangrape and murder of eight-year-old Kathua girl was disparaged by the defence lawyer of the case who accused her and said, "she is a girl, how intelligent can she be?"
For Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Shwetambari Sharma, the comment is reflective of the difficulties she faced while investigating the men who kidnapped an eight-year-old girl in January, kept her sedated and without food while raping her for a week, before finally killing her.
Defence lawyer Ankur Sharma, who made the misogynistic comments, is defending five of the eight accused.
Read: She's a woman, how intelligent can she be? Kathua defence lawyer on probe officer
"It hurts when you are targeted and your intelligence is doubted just because you are a woman. What should I comment on such a chauvinist remark, the whole nation is there to comment on it," Shwetambari Sharma told reporters on Wednesday, reacting to the lawyer's outrageous comment.
Shwetambari Sharma said the team faced lots of difficulties while collecting evidence, especially because a pro-Hindu group and lawyers were campaigning in support of the accused.
All the arrested men are Hindu and the child who was raped and killed belonged to the nomadic Muslim Bakarwal tribe.
"An agitation was going on and going among the provocative people to collect the evidence and take statements was not easy," she said.
Shwetambari Sharma said initially she felt "disturbed" with the case but now she was fine.
She hoped that the judiciary would provide justice to the minor girl who suffered unimaginable horrors in her last days.
"Our judiciary is capable enough to bring justice, don't doubt it," said the police officer.
The trial against the eight accused men has begun on Monday.
Two FIRs (First Information Reports) have been filed in the case - one against the eight accused and the other against a group of lawyers that allegedly tried to stop the police from filing a chargesheet against the accused.
Details of the crime in the chargesheet left the nation struggling with shock, anger and grief. One of the accused, a police officer, urged to rape the girl one last time before she was strangled and stoned to death.
Also Read: Kathua case: Meerut student went to J&K to rape 8-yr-old, says chargesheet
(With ANI inputs)
