Srinagar, June 7
The Shopian incident, in which the bodies of two women were recovered on May 30 from a nullah, has taken an embarrassing turn for the government with a forensic report finding sperm stains in private parts of the victims, forcing the police to register an FIR for rape.
Kashmir IG B Srinivas told The Tribune that the police would initiate legal proceedings under “relevant sections”. Sources said the police would register a case under Section 376 (rape, RPC.
The initial refusal of the government to register a case and CM Omar Abdullah’s claims that the initial probe did not point to any foul play is sure to come back to haunt the government while the PDP and, more significantly, the separatists led by Hurriyat hawk Syed Ali Shah Geelani would find a huge morale booster in the forensic report. Angry crowd clashed with security forces at several places today and stopped a train heading for Budgam, forcing the authorities to halt it at Srinagar.
Interestingly, top police officials still insisted that the finding of sperm stains on persons of Neelofar (22), who was pregnant, and her unmarried sister-in-law, Aasiya (17), do not conclusively prove that they were “raped” and claimed that they still stood by their belief that they died of drowning. “Our investigation is under way and we believe to bring out the truth. We have nothing to hide,” a senior cop associated with the probe said, adding that they would be seeking certain clarifications from medical experts.
Whatever be the police claims, the registration of a case after the government flip-flops has only added to the volatile situation in the valley and the wary authorities have arrested Geelani and put him at an undisclosed location. He has given a call for a march to Shopian tomorrow and security personnel are out in full force to foil any attempt by the separatists to assemble their supporters.
