Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather said the government was ready to hand over the case to the CBI but a permission is to be sought from the state high court.

'We have decided to order the CBI probe, but we will have to seek the permission from the state high court as the matter is sub-judice,' Rather told the house.

Asiya Jan, 17, and her 22-year-old sister-in-law Neelofar were found dead off a stream in their village in Shopian May 30.

Their autopsies confirmed that they were raped and murdered, triggering widespread unrest and violent protests in the valley. The state government set up a one-man commission of a retired high court judge to investigate the case.

On the commission's recommendation, four police officers were arrested for their alleged role in 'the destruction, dissipation and suppression of evidence'.