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Srinagar: Ten days have passed, but protesters in Chatroo, Kishtawar continue to demand justice for the rape and murder of a 14-year-old tribal girl allegedly by public school principal Khalid Hussain Sheikh. The incident has shocked Jammu and Kashmir, especially the Chenab Valley.

A sixth arrest was made on the ninth day on Friday as police investigated the case. A medical worker named Sonika Parihar has been arrested in connection with the minor girl’s death.

Sonika, a female multipurpose wealth worker posted at the Kishtwar district hospital, was arrested during the ongoing investigation into FIR number 34/2026 registered at the Chatroo police station.

During the investigation, the police had already arrested five people in the case on August 20, including Sheikh, a second-grade teacher and principal of the Bhumalpora High School in Inderwal, and his brother. They are considered the prime suspects in the crime. Following his arrest, Sheikh was immediately suspended.

The girl was a fifth-class student at the Bhumalpora High School in Chatroo.

During the investigation, police found that Sheikh had sexually assaulted the underage student several times, which led to her becoming pregnant. She died on August 20 after suffering complications related to the abortion.

‘Preserve every piece of evidence’

According to the investigation, the accused is suspected of using drugs and having an abortion with the help of his brother.

“I feel scientific evidence should be preserved and collected at the earliest. The medical records must be handled with complete integrity, and any opinion based on those records should come from an authentic and independent medical assessment. There should be no misappropriation or tampering in the handling of medical records,” lawyer Deepika Pushkar Nath told The Wire.

Nath received national and international recognition for providing legal assistance to the victim’s family in the high-profile 2018 Kathua rape and murder case. “We have seen in [that] case how attempts can allegedly be made to destroy or dilute evidence. Similar possibilities cannot be ignored here. Every effort must be made to preserve the evidence and ensure that the investigation is not compromised.”

She said that the primary evidence must also be preserved, and witnesses should be encouraged to give their statements in a fair........

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