Updated on Saturday, July 04, 2009, 11:31 IST

Srinagar, July 04: In a fresh turn of events in the alleged rape and murder of two women in Shopian, Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Saturday directed that bodies of the victims be exhumed for carrying out a second postmortem subject to the family's consent, an order welcomed by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

Taking a detailed view of the case, which hampered life in the Kashmir valley for nearly a fortnight last month, a division bench of Chief Justice Barin Ghosh and Justice Mohammad Yaqoob Mir also asked the Special Investigating Team (SIT) prepare a list of civilians, armed forces, police forces and nomads in order to help the investigations.

"In the event any person in the list so to be prepared is still within the locality, he shall not leave without the permission of the SIT," the order said.

It also ordered that a DNA test be undertaken of hair strands recovered from a vehicle and blood sample of one of the victims sent for matching the same.

The court was hearing a public interest litigation filed by Kashmir High Court Bar Association (KHCBA) for a thorough probe into the rape and murder of 22 year-old Neelofar Jan and her 17-year-old sister-in-law Asiya Jan on May 29 in Shopian.

In its six-page order, the bench "requested the family members of the deceased ladies, if they so think fit, to allow exhumation of the bodies of the two ladies for the purpose of carrying out a proper and thorough postmortem of the bodies so as to enable expeditious conclusion of the investigations."

Bureau Report