Survivors of alleged rape in Indian Kashmir renew old fight with new spirit

[Edevelop]

Justice has eluded, for 22 long years and four months, the victims of the alleged mass rape by Indian army men in Kunan Poshpora village in Indian-administered Kashmir, in February, 1991. And they say they are still waiting for justice. They say they will fight. They will not forget. They will not forgive.

“When someone is martyred here in Kashmir, his father and mother feels proud of the sacrifice and martyrdom. Not only the parents but everyone feels proud. The family is given respect. The Indian army snatched our honour by molesting us. We were attacked for the same reason they martyr the Kashmiri youth. But see the irony, we, the 40 women from Kunan Poshpora, were gang raped by the Indian army men on 23-24 February, 1991 feel stigmatised. Our's was also a sacrifice. No one feels proud of us,” said Zara*, one alleged rape victim, during the first-ever press conference of this kind organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) in Srinagar last week.

People from all walks of life attended the press conference ‘Kunan Poshpora Mass Rape And Torture: Case Re-opening And The Future Strategy For Justice” in a local hotel in Srinagar. There were emotional scenes inside the jam-packed hall. People gave a standing ovation to the women to express their solidarity.

After 22 years, the alleged victims had come all the way from Kunan Poshpora in North Kashmir’s frontier district Kupwara— some 60 miles from Srinagar— to meet and interact with journalists, members of civil society, and human rights defenders. This became possible only after a local court recently ordered a time bound re-investigation into the case of alleged mass rape.

A court order dated June 18, 2013 makes a reference to a letter quoting the written complaint lodged by the inhabitants of Kunan Poshpora village, stating that “during the intervening night of 23-24 February, 1991 the Indian army (Battalion of 4th Rajputana Rifle 63 Brigade) cordoned the village at 2300 Hours IST and intruded forcibly into the residential houses, took men into their custody, locked them inside two houses, continued interrogation and a few army male members made a forcible entry into the houses and on gun point committed gang rape upon 23 women indiscriminately, whether old, married, virgin or pregnant.” This horrible crime continued allegedly until the morning of 24 February.

The JKCCS had demanded that the re-investigation be done by the Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by an officer of Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) rank. However, the court while mentioning the lack of authority in ordering SIT, asked further investigation to be conducted by an officer not below the rank of SSP and within a time bound period of 3 months.

Representatives of the Support Group for justice for Kunan Poshpora in a press release described the order of judicial magistrate, Kupwara for further investigation as an “achievement”.

“For 22 years, the villagers of Kunan Poshpora have lived with injustice. For 22 years, civil society and human rights activists, journalists, lawyers, social workers, and Indians, came, heard their story, clicked their pictures, and left,” their press release said.

For over two decades now, the women have had to explain their pain and agony to many investigators, fact-finding teams, police and journalists from Indian-administered Kashmir, India and abroad. They have revived their old battle with new spirit.

The women spoke about their ordeal with mixed emotions – some with tearful eyes, others with a sense of hope that someday “justice will be done”.

“We are not here to seek any monetary compensation; we are demanding justice and want the perpetrators to be punished for their crimes,” said Hadia*. Villagers and eyewitnesses (the women themselves themselves) say the number of women who were gang raped in Kunan Poshpora in 1991 was 40.

Zehra* gave a horrific account that among the possible 40 victims of mass rape, at least 18 women had their uterus removed through surgery. At least five have died since. “Help us seek justice. India should leave Kashmir.”

She added: “The Indian Army might have gang raped us two decades ago, but it is India which stands naked before the world even today. Our fight is on till justice is done.”

The Kunan Poshpora case was dead and buried. But on June 18, 2013 the judicial magistrate Kupwara, Mr. J A Geelani, dismissed the conclusions made by the police in the recently filed closure report in the case. He returned the case file to the police, asking for “further investigation to unravel the identity of those who happen to be the perpetrators.”

Case history

Soon after the complaints filed by the villagers of Kunan Poshpora in 1991, the authorities appointed Boobli George Verghese — a senior Indian journalist who is now associated with a New Delhi-based think tank Centre for Policy Research — as head of the Press Council of India team which was assigned with the task of undiscovering the truth. The B G Verghese-led investigation team gave a clean chit to the Indian army. His report became hugely controversial and raised many eyebrows.


Survivors of alleged rape in Indian Kashmir renew old fight with new spirit - DAWN.COM

 

[Rig Vedic]

These allegations were thoroughly investigated and found to be fabricated -

On March 18, divisional commissioner Wajahat Habibullah visited the village, and filed a confidential report, parts of which were later released to the public. He concluded:

"While the veracity of the complaint is highly doubtful, it still needs to be determined why such complaint was made at all. The people of the village are simple folk and by the Army’s own admission have been generally helpful and even careful of security of the Army’s officers… Unlike Brig. Sharma I found many of the village women genuinely angry … It is recommended that the level of investigation be upgraded to that of a gazetted police officer."[11]

In response to criticism of the government's handling of the investigation, the army requested the Press Council of India to investigate the incident.[7] The investigative team visited Kunan Poshpora in June, more than three months after the alleged attacks. Upon interviewing a number of the alleged victims, the team claimed that contradictions in their testimony rendered their allegations of rape "baseless."[3] The team interviewed hospital officials who stated that one of the women who had been pregnant at the time of the incident had given birth to a child with a fractured arm just 4 days afterwards. She claimed that she had been kicked during the rapes; a pediatrician who visited the village as part of the Jammu and Kashmir People's Basic Rights Committee, confirmed her story.[9] The Press Council team claimed that the fetus had been injured during delivery.[3] Medical examinations conducted on 32 of the women between March 15 and 21, nearly one month after the incident, confirmed that the women had wounds on their chests and abdomens, and that the hymens of three of the unmarried women had been torn. The team claimed that "such a delayed medical examination proves nothing" and that the medical findings were typical among villagers.[3] Ultimately, the team concluded that the charges against the army were, "well-concocted bundle of fabricated lies" and "a massive hoax orchestrated by militant groups and their sympathizers and mentors in Kashmir and abroad...for reinscribing Kashmir on the international agenda as a human rights issue.[3]

In stark contrast of the purported allegations of abuses, these investigations concluded the allegations themselves are "grossly exaggerated or invented".[12]

"The Kunan rape story on close investigation turns out to be a massive hoax orchestrated by militant groups and their sympathizers and mentors in Kashmir and abroad as a part of sustained and cleverly contrived strategy of psychological warfare and as an entry point for reinscribing Kashmir on the International Agenda as a Human rights issue. The loose-ends and the contradictions in the story expose a tissue of lies by many persons at many levels".—Investigation Committee[12]

Kunan Poshpora incident - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia