The 16-year-old Kashmiri girl whose alleged molestation inside a public lavatory in the north-western town of Handwara pushed the Valley into fresh unrest and escalating violence has reiterated that two local youth had harassed her, and not an Army jawan as was alleged.
Five persons were killed and over 30 injured in police and Army firings on protesters following the alleged molestation. As many 202 security personnel were also injured in days of street clashes across the Valley.
The schoolgirl on Saturday evening recorded her statement before the chief judicial magistrate of
Handwara in which she stood by her earlier statement that she was not molested by an Army soldier.
A police statement on Sunday said the girl and her father were produced before the CJM (Handwara) and her statement was recorded in case FIR Number 130/2016 registered at the local police station under Sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent), 341 (wrongful restraint) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty) of the state’s Ranbir Penal Code.
In her statement before the CJM, “she revealed that on 12-04-2016, after school hours while proceeding to her home with her friend, she entered a public lavatory near main chowk Handwara for answering the call of nature,” the police station said. It added, “As soon as she came out of lavatory she was confronted, assaulted and dragged by two boys and her bag was snatched. One of the boys was in school uniform.”
On Saturday, the Jammu and Kashmir high court had directed the police to cite the law under which it has detained the girl. The student, her father Muhammad Akbar Ganai and aunt Zeba Begum were detained by the police even though a video was circulated by the Army on April 13 showing the girl saying she was, in fact, harassed by two local youth.
