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Bodies exhumed in Kashmir probe Bodies exhumed in Kashmir probe
(about 8 hours later)
The exhumation of the bodies of two women raped and murdered in Indian-administered Kashmir has begun under the auspices of federal investigators. The bodies of two women raped and murdered in Indian-administered Kashmir have been exhumed in a fresh attempt to determine who killed them.
Central government investigators took control of the case after state police failed to identify the killers.
The authorities at first said the women had drowned but later acknowledged they had been raped and murdered.
The discovery of the bodies led to weeks of violent protests by locals who blamed security forces for the murders.
'Fear'
India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) ordered the exhumations in the town of Shopian.
The move follows allegations that DNA samples taken from the bodies of Neelofar Jan, 22, and her 17-year-old sister-in-law, Ayesha, had been tampered with.
Four local police officials have been charged with destroying DNA and other evidence relating to the case. They were recently released on bail.
"The bodies were exhumed by a team of doctors in the presence of family members," a police spokesman told the AFP news agency.
Dozens of people gathered at the victims' families' homes not far from the graveyard.
"This fear will remain with us forever," Neelofar Jan's mother said. "We are exhausted now. What can we do with this pain?"
A team of senior doctors from Delhi's prestigious All India Institute of Medical Sciences has been flown to Srinagar city to conduct the autopsies.A team of senior doctors from Delhi's prestigious All India Institute of Medical Sciences has been flown to Srinagar city to conduct the autopsies.
There have been allegations that the DNA samples taken from the women had been tampered with.
The case prompted days of street protests across the Kashmir valley.
The bodies of the two women were discovered in a canal in Shopian on 30 May.
The government initially maintained that they had died in an accident and that they had not been raped or killed.
But the police later said they had been raped and murdered.
Tight security
Officials from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) began exhuming the bodies soon after day-break.
All roads leading to the graveyard in Shopian have been sealed by the police.All roads leading to the graveyard in Shopian have been sealed by the police.
Security is tight and reporters are not allowed into the area. India's security forces are frequently accused of human rights abuses in Indian-administered Kashmir.
The CBI was given control of the investigation after state police failed to make any progress in identifying the culprits. Since 1989, the country's only Muslim majority state has seen a violent separatist insurgency against Indian rule.
Four police officials were alleged to have destroyed vital evidence related to the case. Tens of thousands have been killed, although violence has declined amid peace moves in recent years between India and Pakistan which both claim the territory in its entirety.
They were suspended and later arrested. They were recently released on bail.
A report submitted to the high court last month confirmed allegations that the DNA samples of the two dead women had been tampered with.
According to reports, the vaginal swabs of the women were also fudged.
The rape and murder of the two women led to widespread demonstrations across the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley in June.
At least two people were killed and 500 wounded in clashes with the police.
The incident put a huge question mark on the credibility of the state's young chief minister, Omar Abdullah who had initially denied rape and murder and said that the two women had drowned to death.
Mr Abdullah later apologised and ordered a judicial inquiry into the case.