Srinagar, June 10, 2014: KISHTWAR: The family members of a 12-year-old victim ( a 5th standard student )have said that they were stopped at gunpoint by members of the Village Defence Committee (VDC) from filing a police complaint after a 15 year girl was abducted and raped by VDCs.
A teenage girl was allegedly gang-raped by identified as Suhdharshan Kumar, son of Karam Chand, and Nitin Kumar, son of Saroop Chand. Both of them belong to Joshan Drabshalla village, the members of the notorious Village Defence Committee (VDC), a local media men reported.
The accused abducted the teenager at gunpoint when she was grazing cattle in the field and held her captive for the night, police said.
The 12-year-old victim, a Gujjar girl, from Daloti, Drabshalla, was abducted on June 9 Monday near the Eidgah, where she had gone to dispose of the waste material, reports said Tuesday.
The weapon belonged to the Indian army sponsored Village Defence Committee (VDC). The family of the girl have said that they were stopped at gunpoint by members of the VDC from
filing a police complaint. A case of abduction and rape has been filed, and the girl has been sent for medical tests, police said.
The two accused were produced before a local court today in Kishtwar and were given 10 day s police remand.
In her statement before the court, the rape survivor said that she was gagged and then raped by her captors.
The 12-year-old victim, a Gujjar girl, from Daloti, Drabshalla, was abducted on Monday June 9 evening by two people near the Eidgah, where she had gone to dispose of the waste material, media reports said Tuesday.
The victim, a 5th standard student, was taken to a desolate place by her abductors and raped repeatedly. When the girl didn’t return home till late evening, her family started searching for her.
“The family found the girl in an unconscious condition after hours of search. They approached police after the girl narrated the ordeal to them,” reports said.
When the news of the rape spread on Tuesday June 10, 2014 morning, scores of people assembled on the Kishtwar-Jammu highway and staged massive protests. The protesters were demanding arrest of the accused. Fearing that situation may go out of hands in the communally sensitive district, the administration deployed police in many areas.
Mounting public pressured prompted the police to arrest the two involved rapists who were identified as Suhdharshan Kumar, son of Karam Chand, and Nitin Kumar, son of Saroop Chand. Both of them belong to Joshan Drabshalla village.
Reports said the duo were members of the notorious Village Defence Committee (VDC), a local media men reported.
The incident came to light when the girl narrated the incident to her caretaker, who brought the matter to the notice of the police. She had been working as a domestic help at the house of Sajjad Mattoo in Drabshalla, who had also been looking after her education and other needs. The victim belonged to Daloti village near Drabshalla.
Meanwhile, police has registered a case (FIR No. 97/2014) under Sections 341,363 376 RPC. The enquiry into this case is being conducted by Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Kishtwar, Nazir Ahmad.
A case under Section 376, 363 and 341 of the RPC has been registered against the two accused, said a police officer. Investigations have been initiated, he said.
The Kishtwar SP said the medical examination of girl had been conducted and the report was awaited.
The block medical officer of Thathri said the medical examination of the victim was conducted around 11 pm last night by a team comprising Dr Pratibha Dogra and Dr Rohit Kumar who were assisted by staff nurse Rajni at Primary Health Centre, Thathri.
As a preventive measure, police and Central Reserve Police Force personnel were deployed in strength in Drabshalla and Kishtwar.
A local leader, Ghulam Mohammad Saroori demanded a probe into rape of minor girl. While expressing grief over the occurrence of such heinous crimes, he said: “As a society, we must introspect at the erosion of values and our repeated failure to ensure the security of our women and children.”
On May 22, a girl a three-year-old was raped in Bishnah by a father of two.
In other incident, a 12-year-old girl was raped in Nowshera.
Earlier, a 22-year-old woman was raped by a man (60) after he abducted her and held her captive for four days in the Mendhar area of Poonch.
Some days ago, a school teacher allegedly molested four of his students during a picnic in the Banihal area of Ramban district.
07 JUNE 2014 A government school teacher was on Saturday detained in Kulgam district after an 18-year-old student accused him of molesting her, police said. nIn her complaint to the police, the girl said that on Thursday her teacher tried to molest her while she was returning home in a school bus after having come back from a picnic.
On Thursday, some girls were allegedly stalked by a group of youths while they were going to a picnic to Pahalgam tourist resort and who later slashed ear of one of them. In the second incident involving the teacher, the victim incidentally belongs to the same school and the same picnic group.
The local residents had protested against the accused teacher and demanded his arrest, police said.
A case under section 342 RPC (wrongful confinement) and Section 294 RPC (obscene acts, songs or words) has been registered against the teacher. A senior police officer said statements of teachers who were accompanying the students on the picnic are being recorded to ascertain the veracity of the allegations.
On June 7, With a nurse, who has accused Director Health Services Kashmir (DHSK) and three others officers of “attempt to rape”, a local court in Srinagar on June 14 Saturday said that the Investigating Officer may add during investigation all offences as disclosed by the alleged victim in her complaint.
In the complaint, the victim has named Dr Saleem-ur-Rehman (DHSK); Dr Nazir Shadad (CMO Islamabad) (Anantnag); Dr Arshid Tak (BMO Sallar) and Dr Ashraf (Incharge Medical Superintendent Seer) as the accused.
The court also directed police to provide all necessary protection to the alleged victim resides. “
The nurse who lodged a police complaint against four senior health officers, including Director Health Services Kashmir (DHSK), for alleged molestation attempt, on Saturday alleged the DHSK Dr
Saleem-ur-Rehman has sexually harassed many other female staff members in his personal cabin.
The victim, who appeared before media, said that not only the director but other three officials also used to call female employees to their cabins and harass them.
“The Director has been harassing me from past three months. I am not the only victim but there are many other female employees who have been victimized by these senior officials in their office cabins,” she alleged.
“These officers have exploited other girls also, and I appeal women of Kashmir to raise their voices in my favour so that such a tragedy does not strike anyone else in the future,” the nurse said.
The victim said that police asked her to enter into a compromise with the accused officials so that the matter is hushed up. “I was taken to the office of a superintendent of police where I was told to enter into a compromise with the accused officials,” she added.
“The accused officials have been sexually molesting me for three months and after losing all hope of getting justice from other quarters, I lodged an FIR against them,” she added.
The nurse, posted at a Primary Health Centre in south Kashmir’s Mattan Block had lodged complaint against the accused at Police Station Shaheed Gunj for the alleged molestation attempt on Thursday.
The case has been also registered against Chief Medical Officer Islamabad (Anantnag) Dr Nazir Ahmed, Medical Superintendent Seer Dr Muhammad Ashraf Paddar and Block Medical Officer Sallar Dr Arshid Tak on similar charges.
Meanwhile, Police have registered an FIR (No. 46/20014) under section 354-A (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) against all the four senior health officials.
She said that she has no personal enmity with the director and stands by her statement made at police station against the four senior officers of the health department.
She said, “These officials have been harassed many females so far. But unfortunately these victims do not muster courage to speak against these predators due to certain reasons.”
She added that the she even went to Health and Education Minister Taj Mohidin and lodged a complaint against the officials but no action was taken against them.
She said, “Had the Minister taken the action on time the situation would have been entirely different”.
She also alleged that the accused officers have ‘planted’ many persons as eyewitnesses to prove her statement as baseless.
“The reality is that they used to sexually harass female employees in their cabins not in front of their colleagues and other officials. I rubbish all the claims of eyewitness who in a press conference defended the Director Health Services Kashmir by declaring him innocent,” she added.
Talking to media persons here, she demanded justice in the case. “I have not leveled baseless allegations against the director and three others as is being claimed by some persons. How can a woman stoop so low and tarnish her image in the society? I have been molested and demand justice,” the nurse said.
She said that she was being pressurized by the government officials to withdraw the case. “I do not expect justice from the government machinery but I appeal the women and others here to come to my rescue. I will not succumb to pressure and will not withdraw my case,” the nurse stated.
The police had on Thursday received a written complaint from the nurse of the Health Department in which she has levelled charges of attempt to molest against the four senior officials. The police had already registered a case on Friday and they said the initial investigation "negates the allegations" levelled by the nurse.