Mehbooba demands capital punishment for Budgam killing accused

Srinagar, Mar 18 (PTI) Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti Saturday demanded capital punishment for the accused in the killing of a woman whose body was cut into several pieces and hidden at different locations in Jammu and Kashmir.

Mehbooba visited the family of the woman in Soibugh in Budgam district of central Kashmir and expressed her condolences.

“The police have done a good job and I hope that (trial in) the case will be fast-tracked. The accused should be hanged sooner so that other girls do not have to face this,” she told reporters.

She said the incident reflects where our society has reached.

“It reflects where our thinking has reached… I think violence against women has increased and our people, our men, should think about it and this should not happen because such violence also takes place inside our homes,” she said.

The woman was killed earlier this month and her body chopped into several pieces. The police have arrested a man who confessed to the crime and identified the locations where he had hidden the woman’s body parts.

Meanwhile, taking to Twitter, the former chief minister referred to Kiran Bhai Patel who posed as a PMO official and enjoyed various perks before being arrested, and said conmen were enjoying government patronage but common Kashmiris were being harassed.

“Conmen whether outsiders or local enjoying government patronage & hospitality, are given protocol, security & access to powerful babus. Compare this to common Kashmiris viewed suspiciously & harassed in every way possible (sic),” she tweeted.

Patel, hailing from Gujarat, posed as an additional director (strategy and campaigns) in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and enjoyed many perks, including a bulletproof car and security cover, besides other hospitality.

Patel was on his third visit to the Kashmir Valley when he was nabbed by security officials on March 3.