Minor’s rape: Women groups seek action against culprits

Samaan Lateef

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, February 21

Various women associations have taken up the rape and murder of a minor girl with the J&K Government and asked it to take stern action against the culprits.

The women groups have demanded that proceedings of the case should be fast-tracked and stern action should be taken against the culprits.

“We demand the case be dealt with in a fast-track court and stern action be taken against the culprits. Also, action should be taken against those who shield the culprits under whatever pretext,” reads a memorandum submitted before the J&K Resident Commissioner, New Delhi, by five women associations of the country on Wednesday.

The eight-year-old girl had left her home at 3.30 pm on January 10 at Rassana in Kathua district to graze horses in the nearby forest but didn’t return. A week later, her body was recovered from a nearby forest area.

The police said the girl was drugged and kept in captivity for seven days before being raped and murdered.

“A minor goes missing and is found dead and mutilated is a heinous crime in itself. Equally heinous is the effort by some groups to shield the culprits,” reads the memorandum, which was submitted by All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA), All India Mahila Sanskritik Sangathan, Feminism in India, National Federation of Indian Women, and Purogami Mahila Sangathan.

The incident has sent shock waves across J&K and the Opposition legislators have sought constitution of a Special Investigation Team of police to probe the case. The police had claimed to have solved the case by arresting a “minor boy”. However, the Crime Branch, which is also investigating the case, has so far arrested two special police officers — Deepak Khajuria and Surinder Kumar — in connection with the case. Khajuria was also part of the police team that had searched for the minor after she went missing on January 10.

“No less unnerving is the police officer’s involvement in the crime. As if this was not enough, there are groups working overtime to turn the case on its head, far from asking to bring the culprits to justice,” said the women groups.

The case took an ugly turn after the Hindu Ekta Manch rallied in support of the policemen arrested for allegedly raping and murdering the girl.

“The manch is one of the many fronts of the RSS which is bent upon widening the wedge between communities to achieve its nefarious ends. This move at politicising and communalising the crime would not only delay justice but would also vitiate the atmosphere in an already sensitive area,” read the memorandum.

The groups demanded that the family of the deceased be provided adequate security. They also asked the Central and state governments to ensure that such criminal acts were not repeated.