The Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Wednesday imposed a complete ban on the reporting of the ongoing CBI investigation into the Shopian alleged double rape and murder case, even as the state government ordered a probe into the conduct of local doctors who messed up the collection of samples from the bodies of the victims. On Wednesday, the High Court Bar Association withdrew as a party to the case, saying they had “no faith in an investigation carried out by the CBI”.

Chief Justice Barin Ghosh reprimanded the CBI for selectively leaking aspects and facts pertaining to the probe to the media. “We are issuing an order that no member of the CBI will speak a word to the media,” observed Justice Ghosh at the beginning of the hearing. In response, the CBI counsel said the agency had not spoken to the media on the investigation. “We assure the honourable court that the CBI shall not divulge anything to anyone except to this court in the form of reports.”

The court order came a day after media reports ruled out rape in the case of 17-year-old Aasiya. The team of doctors from AIIMS who examined her exhumed body in Shopian on Monday found her hymen intact, thereby casting doubt on rape being a motive in her murder.

Meanwhile, the state government finally woke up to the need for holding to account local doctors responsible for mishandling the medical examination of the bodies at the initial stage. “We have decided to probe into the role of the doctors. We have started a departmental inquiry against them,” Health Minister Sham Lal said, adding that severe action will be initiated against them if found guilty.

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