Union minister and Udhampur MP Jitendra Singh (pictured above) has said there is no harm in handing over the Kathua rape and murder case to the Central Bureau of Investigation, The Tribune reported on Wednesday. He also criticised “politicians at high positions” making “judgemental remarks” on the topic.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti had on Friday said she was “horrified” by protests demanding the release of the accused in the case. An organisation called the Hindu Ekta Manch had protested in Kathua, demanding the release of police officer Deepak Khajuria, who allegedly kidnapped, raped and killed an eight-year-old girl in Kathua district in January.

Kathua is part of Singh’s Lok Sabha constituency. The Bharatiya Janata Party has distanced itself from the Hindu Ekta Manch.

“If people feel that they don’t have faith in the police or crime branch investigation and the case needs to be handed over to the CBI, I don’t think there is any problem,” Singh told a local TV channel, according to The Tribune. “If the state government does so and recommends it to the Centre, we will definitely act on it.”

“No politician or any official, at any high position, has the right to make judgemental remarks on such sensitive issues,” Singh said. “We have courts to decide as to who is culprit and who is innocent. It is not the job of any official or politician to make such remarks.” Singh is the minister of state in the Prime Minister’s Office.