Hundreds of Kashmiris protest women's deaths

[Al-zakir]

SRINAGAR, India (AP) - Government forces fired warning shots and tear gas Saturday as hundreds of Kashmiris again protested the deaths of two young women they claim were raped and killed by Indian soldiers.
Protests first erupted a week ago after the bodies of a 17-year old girl and her 22-year-old sister-in-law were found in a shallow stream south of Srinagar, the main city in Indian-held Kashmir.
Unrest since last Saturday has left one person dead and another 400 injured, and separatist groups called a general strike on Monday, which has shuttered businesses, government offices and schools across the Kashmir Valley.
Despite a heavy deployment of armed troops in riot gear and a government order banning protests, demonstrators took to the streets in at least half a dozen places in Srinagar on Saturday, a police officer said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to talk to reporters.
The officer said clashes erupted and troops fired live ammunition into the air and tear gas to disperse the protesters. No injuries were immediately reported, he said.
Clashes between security forces and protesters were also reported in four other towns in the Indian-controlled portioned of the Himalayan region.
Anti-India sentiment runs deep in Kashmir, a Muslim-majority territory divided between India and Pakistan.

Human rights groups and separatist leaders have long accused the Indian military of using rape and sexual molestation to intimidate the local population as it wages a 20-year battle against separatist insurgents.
The Indian military as well as paramilitary forces have not responded to the allegations that their troops raped and killed the two women whose deaths have sparked the latest protests.
The state government ordered a judicial probe into the deaths, but protests have continued. Rights groups say such probes rarely yield results and are often meant only to calm public anger.

Hundreds of Kashmiris protest women's deaths

 

[Gabbar]

Forensic report confirms two Kashmiri women were raped​

SRINAGAR: In a major embarrassment to the Jammu and Kashmir government that had so far maintained that the two south Kashmir women found dead last Police fire tear gas, during a protest against the deaths of two young women Kashmiri locals claim were raped and killed in Srinagar. (AP Photo)
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week had drowned, the police on Sunday registered an FIR in the case after a forensic report confirmed that they were raped and murdered.

The police had earlier refused to lodge the FIR, while chief minister Omar Abdullah, who ordered a judicial inquiry on June 1 to cool tempers, had said the women had drowned. He also ruled out rape, based on feedback from top district officials. The case comes as the first glaring instance of mishandling of a sensitive issue by the young CM, reflected in widespread protests that have paralysed the Valley for the past week.

``We registered a case of rape after receiving the Forensic Science Laboratory's report on Saturday evening,'' DGP Kuldeep Khoda said, adding that the autopsies were conducted last week. ``We've registered a case against unknown people but the culprits will be exposed soon and brought to justice.''

Violent street protests have brought life to a standstill in the Valley for a week after cops recovered the bodies of Neelofar Jan, 22, and her sister-in-law Asiya Jan, 17, on May 30. Locals allege that security forces raped and killed the two. Asiya, and Neelofar, who was pregnant, went missing from their orchard in Shopian on May 29 and their bodies were recovered from a stream the next day.

Omar was unavailable for comment as he was holidaying with his family in the north Kashmir resort town of Gulmarg.

Protests, meanwhile, continued unabated for the seventh day as angry civilians took on the police in street battles, forcing cops to use batons and teargas to disperse them. The protests have so far claimed a life and left at least 400 people injured.

Police also arrested hardline separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani for calling for the weeklong protest. Geelani, 79, was held after a midnight raid on his house in Srinagar. Sources said Geelani was shifted to an undisclosed location to prevent him from calling for further demonstrations. ``Geelani was booked for inciting violence and disturbing public peace,'' a source said. Other separatists have either been arrested or detained in their homes.

 

[notsuperstitious]

Everytime tourists flock to J&K and hopes of normalcy come up, something like this happens or made to happen.

I hope the culprits are caught and pnished.

 

[wtf]

Everytime tourists flock to J&K and hopes of normalcy come up, something like this happens or made to happen.

I hope the culprits are caught and pnished.

Seems like protests are much more peaceful compared to earlier ones. Atleast from the news stories the protests are more like the ones that happened in Delhi after Priyadarshini Mattoo or BMW cases. Can't say that those actions were anti-Delhi-tourism.

When the authorities are seen doing something non-transparent, the people get onto the streets.

 

[Gabbar]

Shopian activist found dead in Kashmir orchard

In a new twist to the rape and murder of two women in Shopian, police on Tuesday recovered the body of a member of a group that has been spearheading an agitation for justice in the sensational case that rocked the Kashmir Valley this summer.

The body of Mohammed Hussain Zargar, 42, a property dealer, was discovered in an orchard three days after he had disappeared, triggering fresh protests in the south Kashmir town, police said.

Shopian has been on the boil after two women - Asiya Jan, 17, and her 22-year-old sister-in-law Neelofar were found dead near a stream in their village May 30.

Zargar was one of the activists of the Shopian Majlis-e-Mashawarat Committee formed to fight for justice in the rape-murder.

"Mohammed Hussain Zargar was a pro-active member of the Majlis," committee president Mohammed Shafi Khan told IANS.

Khan said Zargar had gone missing on Saturday and it was suspected he had been picked up by the Special Operations Group of the Kashmir Police. "But police have denied it. We were in contact with the police. Today (Tuesday) when we were returning from Srinagar for a court hearing in the rape and murder we were told that Hussain's (Zargar) body was found in an orchard."

According to Khan, Zargar was found lying in a pool of blood. "We cannot say what kind of injuries he had because police quickly took the body to a hospital."

He said police had cordoned off the area and "preserved the site" and a team of forensic experts was expected by Wednesday for investigation.

 

[Gabbar]

Shopian rape-murder culprits will be brought to justice: Omar

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday visited Shopian town in south Kashmir and assured the families of two women raped and murdered there on May 30 that he would not rest until the culprits of the double murder were brought to justice.

"I would rather want the murderers to be hanged till death," Omar Abdullah told a public meeting at Kareva Zora village near Shopian town.

The chief minister said he would have the double murder of Nilofar, 22, and her sister-in-law Asiya, 17, investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or any other probe agency to bring the culprits to book.

The chief minister requested the people of Shopian to come forward and help in the investigations as the government had announced a reward of Rs 20 lakh for anyone providing clues in the rape and murder.
"I reiterate my commitment here again. Until the murderers are caught and brought to the law, I will not rest," the chief minister said.

The bodies of Nilofar and Asiya were found by the side of a local stream near Shopian town May 30. The incident had triggered Valley-wide protests.

Four police officers including the then district police chief of Shopian, his deputy, an inspector and a sub-inspector of police were suspended and later arrested for negligence of duty and destruction of evidence in this case.

 

[iamunique]

This is a case which shouldn't be allowed to die away. The deaths of these two women and also the case of Ishrat Jahaan in Gujarat are shocking cases of the servants of the public turning into enemies of the public. The culprits in these cases should be identified, tried and their punishment should set a shining example to their ilk. This is cannot be treated only as a case of illtreatment of muslims, this can happen to any one else and that is why the punishment of the culprits is of paramount importance.