Taken from: Forensic report confirms two Kashmiri women were raped | India News - Times of India
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 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.
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