Woman lawyer of Kathua case alleges security downgrade, pulls out daughter from school

Srinagar: Jammu-based woman lawyer Deepika Pushkar Nath, who represented family of eight-year-old nomad girl in infamous 2018 Kathua rape and murder case, has said her security has been downgraded despite persistent threats and scaling down of security has forced her to stop her daughter, an 8th class student, from attending the school.

Talking to this newspaper, Deepika said about three months back, one of the two PSOs provided to her was withdrawn by the police. Police had provided security to her after she faced open threats for representing the family of eight-year-old nomad victim in 2018 Kathua rape and murder case.She said in November 2025, she approached IGP Security and urged him to replace one of the PSOs.

"Instead of replacing the PSO, the PSO was withdrawn from my security cover, leaving me only with one PSO"."I brought the matter to the notice of the police officials. I recently met IGP Security in this regard and apprised him about the matter but to no avail," Deepika said. She said after representing the victim's family in Kathua rape and murder case, she has faced attacks and open threats.

"When someone like Farooq Abdullah can miraculously survive an assassination attempt despite having Z+ protection, what does it mean for someone like me? My daughter has stopped going to school. That's the level of fear we're living with," Deepika posted on X.She said of the two PSOs allotted to her, one use to accompany her daughter, who studies in class 8th to the school while other used to accompany her.

"Since the scaling down of my security, I am not sending my daughter to the school due to fear. She only visited the school to appear in the examination," Deepika said. "I fear sending her to school in a three wheeler or with a stranger". The lawyer, who joined Congress and then resigned only to return back to the grand old party, said ever since the Rasana case, she has been socially and professionally isolated, pushed to the margins, made to bear the brunt.

"If anything happens to me or my family, the responsibility will lie squarely with the IGP Jammu Security who have no SOPs in place for threat assessment," said Deepika, who has written to the Chief Justice of India and Chief Justice of J&K High Court to seek their intervention.

In her letter to CJI, she has stated that, "since 2018, I have continuously faced organized hate campaigns, public vilification, protests and branding as "anti-Hindu" and "anti-establishment," solely for discharging my professional duty as an advocate and standing with a victim of sexual violence.

Even today, I continue to be viewed with suspicion and hostility, not because of any wrongdoing but because I fought for justice".She has urged the CJI to take cognizance of the "arbitrary withdrawal and reduction of security" granted pursuant to Supreme Court assessment and direct immediate restoration of full security cover to her. Deepika said if her security is not restored, she would move J&K High Court to get back full security cover.

This report was published from a syndicated wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.