Two men held for rape, abduction of minor girls in separate incidents in J&K

Two persons, facing separate charges of abduction and rape of two minor girls, were arrested, while two missing women were reunited with their families in Doda and Kathua, police said on Sunday.

Swami Raj, a resident of Ramnagar area of Udhampur, was arrested for his alleged involvement in the abduction and rape of a minor girl in Gandoh area of the Doda district earlier this month, a police spokesman said.

He said a case was registered under relevant sections of the BNS and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act on October 1, following a written complaint regarding the alleged kidnapping and rape of the minor.

In another similar case, the police arrested Showkat Hussain alias Shonku alias Hashim Din, a resident of Kathua, who was on the run after being named in an FIR registered at the RS Pura police station in Jammu under various sections of the IPC and POCSO Act in 2023. Due to his prolonged evasion, the Fast Track Court (Rape & POCSO cases) Jammu had issued a warrant under Section 299 CrPC against him, the spokesman said.

Additionally, the police said that two young women who were reported missing from Khour in Jammu and Gursai in Poonch districts were traced and handed over to their families.