Taking suo motu cognizance of the Bandipora ‘rape’ case of a three-year-old girl, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Wednesday directed the Inspector General of Police (Kashmir zone) to file a status report by Friday.
Taking note of media reports about the alleged rape case, a division bench of Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Tashi Rabstan, directed the IGP to file a status report about the investigations before 10 am on Friday.
A three-year-old girl was allegedly raped last week by her neighbour, leading to widespread outrage and protests against the incident.
The accused has been arrested by police and a special investigation team constituted for a speedy investigation of the incident.
Even as the J&K police has arrested the accused in the case, violent protests broke out in several parts of Kashmir, including summer capital Srinagar on Monday and Tuesday, leaving dozens injured, one of them critically.
At least 14 persons were injured in massive protests in Pattan area of Baramulla district on Monday over the alleged rape of the three-year-old Sumbal girl last week. “One of the injured identified as Arshid Ahmad Dar was hit by a tear gas shell in his head following which he was rushed to Srinagar in critical condition,” a police officer said.
At several places in north Kashmir, police had to use teargas to disperse the protesters who had blocked the traffic movement to demand speedy trial of the case.
On Tuesday, hundreds of students from educational institutions across Kashmir had staged protests demanding exemplary punishment for the accused as well as the school principal who had issued a certificate to the accused declaring him as a minor.
Protests had erupted in many parts of Srinagar city, including Saida Kadal, Gaw Kadal, Almagari Bazar and Shalimar areas, forcing the authorities to suspend mobile internet services in several districts of the Valley as a precautionary measure.
Authorities had also ordered closure of schools in Bandipora, Srinagar, Budgam, Baramulla and other affected districts where violent clashes were reported between protesting students and security forces. Students of Kashmir University and Islamic University Awantipora also held protest rallies against the horrific incident.
DIG North Kashmir Mohd. Sulieman Choudhary visited Sumbal and held a meeting with the village elders, asking them to maintain calm.
On the evening of 8 May, the victim was allegedly raped by his neighbour after luring her to a nearby school. “The accused had raped her in the washroom of the school located at a walking distance from their respective houses,” locals said.