Jammu Kashmir Police’s SIT to Probe Murder of Mumbai Woman in Jammu’s Sainik Colony

SRINAGAR: The Crime Branch Headquarters has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) to probe the killing of a woman from Mumbai in the Sainik Colony area here last month, and the injuries caused to two other women in the same incident, reports appearing in the Jammu newspaper Daily Excelsior said.

The six-member SIT will examine the circumstances surrounding the August 21 firing inside a physiotherapy centre and the suspicious role of three police officers—Inspector Deepak Pathania and PSIs Wasim Bhatti and Rohit Sharma—who were suspended for allegedly trying to pass off the incident as a road accident.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Jammu, Joginder Singh, has attached the suspended officers to the Regional Police Headquarters (RPHQ) Jammu. “They shall deploy in DPL Jammu immediately and report to RPHQ Jammu on September 20,” the SSP’s order read, adding that they would remain attached there during their suspension. In the meantime, SI Noor Hussain and ASI Devinder Kumar have been appointed as in-charges of Police Station Channi Himmat and Police Post Sainik Colony, respectively.

Police sources said the SIT was formally constituted on September 19, with its members finalised a day later after Inspector General of Police (IGP) Crime J&K, Sujit Kumar, held deliberations with his team in Jammu. Soon after, SIT members took charge of the case records from Police Station Channi Himmat and Police Post Sainik Colony.

One SIT member also facilitated the discharge of Fatima Akil, sister of the deceased Mehjabeen Akil Sheikh from West Malad, Mumbai, from the Government Medical College Jammu for questioning. Fatima was among those injured in the incident, along with Jaspreet Kour of Ludhiana, who has been missing since the day of the attack.

According to police sources, an unidentified gunman had opened fire inside the physiotherapy centre on August 21, injuring Mehjabeen, Fatima, and Jaspreet. Initially, two individuals admitted them to JK Medicity Hospital, claiming they had been injured in a road accident at Bari Brahmana. Against medical advice, the victims were later shifted to ASCOMS Batra and subsequently to GMC Jammu, where Mehjabeen succumbed to her injuries on August 29.

Police had at first initiated inquest proceedings, but later confirmed that the injuries were caused by gunfire and not a road accident. A murder case was then registered. The alleged lapses in handling the case prompted the suspension of the three police officers on September 19.

The SIT will now investigate both the shooting and the role of the suspended officers amid suspicions of irregularities in the initial probe.