New Delhi: Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday asked "how could anyone protect the culprits" in the rape and murder case of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir and deplored letting politics interfere in such "unimaginable brutality".

"How can anyone protect the culprits of such evil? What happened to her (name withheld) at Kathua is a crime against humanity. It cannot go unpunished," he said in a tweet.

"What have we become if we allow politics to interfere with such unimaginable brutality perpetrated on an innocent child," he asked.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Thursday said there would be no obstruction of justice in the rape and murder case of the girl.

Her tweet comes after the Jammu Bar Association staged protests against the handling of the case by the Jammu and Kashmir Police Crime Branch. It has also demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe.

Eight people, including the mastermind Sanji Ram, have been charged with abduction, raping and murdering the 'Bakerwal' (nomadic) minor in Kathua's Rasana village in January.

Investigations have revealed that the victim was held in a temple, drugged, repeatedly raped and finally murdered to scare the Bakerwal community out of the village.

Sanji Ram has also been charged with bribing local policemen, including a sub-inspector and a head constable, to destroy vital evidence.