J&K Policeman in CBI Custody over Wife's Dowry Death Case

The CBI today took into custody a Jammu and Kashmir police officer after filing a charge sheet against him in a Jammu court for the alleged murder of his wife over an unfulfilled dowry demand, officials said.

Jammu and Kashmir Police Inspector Vivek Bassan's wife Neha Kumari was found dead on February 26, 2018, with a gunshot injury from the service pistol of her husband, they said.

The Jammu and Kashmir High Court had handed over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which took over the probe into the case on March 26, 2019, the officials said.

During the investigation, the CBI also found that a station house officer of the Jammu and Kashmir Police and a ballistic expert had a role in allegedly concealing the role of Mr Bassam and reflecting it a suicide case, regarding which a probe is going on, they said.

"During the investigation, an alleged conspiracy was also revealed to manipulate evidence so as to reflect the incident as a suicide," CBI Spokesperson RK Gaur said.

The agency, after taking over the probe, used its sophisticated forensic expertise and reconstructed the crime scene, which brought out the murder, the officials said.

The CBI has further alleged that the woman was being subjected to cruelty in relation to demand for dowry and was murdered by her husband by using his service pistol.

"On the basis of evidence gathered during investigation, the CBI arrested the accused on May 29, 2020. The accused was produced before CJM, Jammu, and remanded to judicial custody," Mr Gaur said.

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