Shopian case: Victims' samples swapped?

Srinagar: Monday is a crucial day for the Shopian case, when the bodies of two young women alleged to have been raped and killed, will be exhumed in Jammu and Kashmir.

But this comes in the midst of startling confessions from a doctor who was part of the team that conducted the second post-mortem. Agency reports suggest she has confessed to swapping the vaginal samples of the victims. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) though has refused to confirm this.

The bodies of Aaisya and Neelofar will be exhumed four months after they were murdered. But before that happens, the new twist appears in the case that has seen massive protests in the Valley.

Agency reports say Dr Nighatm the lady doctor who prepared the vaginal slides of the two women, has told the CBI that no samples were ever taken from the bodies. Sources claim the doctor had taken samples from gloves used in the Gynaecological ward of Pulwama district hospital, and prepared a slide that showed the presence of semen.

When questioned by the CBI, the doctor broke down and confessed to faking the slides under pressure. The family now hopes the CBI will get the truth out.

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"I have cooperated with all the agencies who came for investigations. I have told the CBI that me and my family will give full cooperation to them in the investigations," said Shakeel Ahmad, victim's husband.

This case, after the recent revelations, has a striking similarity with the Aarushi murder case. A forensic expert from AIIMS, Dr T D Dogra, who also helped with the Aarushi case, has gone to Srinagar to assist the CBI team. They are now hoping the exhumation of the bodies would lead to vital clues.

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No doubt the task ahead for CBI is very difficult but the family has full faith in the country's premier investigating agency that they may reach out to the real culprits.