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Bandipora rape case: Test shows accused not minor, say police
A senior official of the J-K Police said the preliminary medical examination of the accused, who has been arrested by the police, suggests that he is an adult.
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Preliminary medical examination of a youth accused of raping a three-year-old girl in Jammu and Kashmir’s Bandipora district has shown that he is not a juvenile, police said Monday.
“We are treating the accused as an adult and not as a juvenile,” a senior police official told PTI.
He said the preliminary medical examination of the accused, who has been arrested by the police, suggests that he is an adult.
“The doctors have given an opinion that he is around 20-years-old,” the official said.
He said the police have also detained the principal of a school, who issued a birth certificate for the accused showing his date of birth as 23 July, 2009.
“The principal is under the custody and is being questioned,” the official said. He said the police are investigating the case and will take it to the logical conclusion.
Also Read | 54 injured as protests over 3-year-old’s rape intensify
Meanwhile, state governor Satya Pal Malik has sought exemplary punishment to whoever raped a minor in Bandipora district as widespread protests rocked the Kashmir Valley, shutting down businesses and educational institutions.
“The governor has expressed deep shock and pain over the extremely heinous incident of rape of a 3-year-old girl from Bandipora,” a Raj Bhawan statement said.
It said the governor spoke to SP Pani, jnspector general of police (IGP) in Kashmir, and directed him “to work swiftly in the case and ensure that the culprit gets exemplary punishment for this shameful act”.
He also asked religious leaders of different communities to deplore this gruesome incident and appealed to the people to remain calm and not let “anti-social elements disturb peace and harmony in the society”. The incident triggered massive protests at various places in the valley forcing businesses, public transport and educational institutions to close down.
Police have already arrested the accused and constituted a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the matter.
The case has also been trending on the social media with people across the board expressing their anger.
Former chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, separatist leaders as well as a number of social, religious and political groups expressed shock over the incident.
Mehbooba Mufti has said that the guilty of such a heinous crime should be stoned to death by invoking the Muslim Sharia laws.
Senior separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has appealed people to maintain harmony and ensure that miscreants were prevented from stoking sectarian strife using the most incident.
Meanwhile, Peoples Conference chairman, Sajjad Lone condemned the use of pellets on the protesters.
“Use of pellets against those protesting the rape of a threeyear-old girl goes against all norms. Has the J&K Police forgotten non-lethal crowd control? Heaven’s sake. Understand there is anger and anger in such a case is normal,’’ he tweeted.
