'Let India handle it': UK govt tells Pak origin lawmaker who raised Kathua rape in Parliament

In her response on behalf of the British government, Baroness Stedman-Scott said India has a strong democratic framework which guarantees human rights.

"India has a strong democratic framework which guarantees human rights" is what Baroness Stedman-Scott said on behalf of the British government when Pakistan origin lawmaker Lord Ahmed raised Kathua rape case in the Upper House of the UK parliament.

Lord Ahmed, a staunch critic of the Indian government, had raised the issue of rape and murder of an 8-year-old girl in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir and called on the British government to "intervene".

In her response on behalf of the British government, Baroness Stedman-Scott said India has a strong democratic framework which guarantees human rights.

"But we do acknowledge it does face numerous challenges relating to its size and development when it comes to enforcing fundamental rights enshrined in its Constitution..These cases (of rape and murder) are nothing short of horrific and we extend our condolences to the families of the victims. Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi has been clear that justice will be done," she said.

Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti last week wrote to the chief justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, requesting setting up of a special fast-track court to hear the case of brutal rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua.

The Kathua rape and murder was a gruesome act in which an 8 year lost her life. The Jammu police have filed its charge sheet which reveals horrific details of the heinous crime. Following the charge sheet, protests had broken out in which some sought to defend the accused persons. The Jammu police had said that the primary intention of the murder was to frighten the Bakarwal community to which the girl belongs. The intention was to dislodge the nomadic tribe, the police had said.

A Special Investigation Team, formed to probe the incident, has so far arrested eight people, including two Special Police Officers (SPOs) and a head constable, who was charged with destroying evidence.

OneIndia News with PTI inputs