Reprimanding the CBI for laxity in investigating the Srinagar sex abuse scandal, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court today revealed the names of a minister, two legislators, top bureaucrats, police officers and a prominent businessman against whom evidence was available but no cognizance had been taken.

Those named by the court are Transport Minister Hakeem Yaseen, MLAs Ghulam Hassan Khan and Yogesh Sawnhey, DGP-rank officer Rajinder Tikoo, senior IPS officers Ashkoor Wani, Niyaz Mahmood and Shiekh Mahmood, former J&K Bank chairman Muhammad Yousuf Khan and owner of Hotel Broadway, Anil Amla.

The court pulled up the CBI for failing to identify the “gora-chitta commissioner who allegedly had sex with the minor victim in an official hut at Cheshma Shahi, even though all these aspects are integral to the logical conclusion of this case”.

The court observed that the “whole thing is a mix of humiliation, torture and treachery”.

The court decision to name the minister, who heads an influential independent group of legislators in the coalition, is a blow to the Congress-led government. Yaseen has been a staunch Congress ally.

The PDP promptly suspended legislator Ghulam Hassan Khan. This may force the Congress to suspend MLA Yogesh Sawhney. The Congress now has two MLAs named in the scandal, the other being Ghulam Ahmad Mir, released recently after a year in jail.

The court directed the CBI to conduct fresh identification parades, if necessary, and fixed the next hearing for November 26.