Protest Swells in Indian Kashmir Over Alleged Rape

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SRINAGAR, India-- Thousands hurling rocks and shouting anti-India slogans protested in a remote village in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Friday, after a woman told police she was abducted and raped by army soldiers stationed in the disputed Himalayan region.

The 25-year-old woman filed a police report saying two soldiers abducted her Tuesday near her home in Manzgam village and held her in a meadow hut, raping her repeatedly over two days, according to her statement Thursday. Her husband later told reporters she was left in the meadow and made her way home in a state of shock but would be able to identify her attackers.

The protesters demanded the arrest of the two soldiers. The Indian army and police, wary the case could touch off renewed conflict in the volatile region, insisted justice would be done.

"A special investigation team has been formed," said Shiv Murari Sahai, a top officer in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir. Police also said results of a medical exam of the woman were pending.

Indian army chief in Kashmir Lt. Gen. Syed Ata Hasnain said the military also is investigating, but he suggested armed Kashmiri rebels may have staged the attack to incite public anger against the army.

"Terrorists also use combat uniform" that could resemble the army's, Hasnain told reporters in Srinagar, the main city in Indian-controlled Kashmir. "We've conducted certain operations a fortnight ago in the same area, and the terrorists are under pressure. Therefore, this was something which was not unexpected."

Protests by stone-throwing youths and clashes with police have become routine during the warmer months in Kashmir, where anti-India sentiment runs deep among the mostly Muslim population and human rights groups have accused the Indian military of using rape and sexual molestation to cow the local population.

In 2009, massive protests broke out after allegations that two women were raped and murdered by men in uniform. A federal investigation later decided they had not been raped and had died from drowning.

As the news spread Thursday about the alleged attack in Manzgam, about 75 miles (120 kilometers south of Srinagar, hundreds of village residents took to the streets chanting pro-freedom and anti-army slogans.

By Friday, thousands more from neighboring villages had joined the protest, demanding the accused soldiers be arrested.

At least five civilians and four officers were injured in clashes Friday, as the protesters hurled rocks at police and paramilitary soldiers who tried to stop them from marching through Manzgam, police said.

Government forces fired tear gas and swung batons to disperse the swelling crowd, according to an officer who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak with media.

Officials braced for the violence to spread in Kashmir, which is split between Indian and Pakistani control while claimed in full by both countries.

Local separatists have been fighting since 1989 for independence from India or merger with Pakistan. More than 68,000 people, most of them civilians, have been killed in the armed uprising and subsequent Indian crackdown.

Protest Swells in Indian Kashmir Over Alleged Rape - FoxNews.com

 

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Protests in Indian Kashmir After Alleged Rape by Soldiers

Protests have erupted in Indian-controlled Kashmir after a woman claimed she was abducted and raped by two soldiers in the disputed region.

The hundreds of participants in Friday's demonstrations shouted anti-India slogans and called for the arrest of the Indian army personnel.

The woman told police that the men abducted her Tuesday, held her in a hut for two days and raped her repeatedly.

An Indian army official said the military is helping with the police probe of the incident, as well as conducting its own investigation. But he suggested soldiers may not have been responsible, saying terrorists also wear combat uniforms sometimes.

Human rights groups have accused Indian security forces of extrajudicial killings and other rights abuses in Kashmir.

The Himalayan region is divided between India and Pakistan, but claimed in full by both. Muslim separatists have been fighting since 1989 for Kashmir's independence from Hindu-majority India or a merger with Muslim-majority Pakistan. Thousands have been killed in the insurgency.

Protests in Indian Kashmir After Alleged Rape by Soldiers « VOA Breaking News

 

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Kulgam 'rape': Geelani demands independent probe​

Stating that the alleged rape of Kulgam woman "has once again exposed the evil face of the Indian army", Chairman Hurriyat Conference (G) Syed Ali Shah Geelani Friday demanded an independent probe into the incident.

In a statement issued here, Geelani said the “heinous crime has once again exposed the evil face of the Indian army.”

“This shameful act is a recurrence of the 2009 Shopian double rape and murder case and proves that the Indian army is using rape as a war weapon in Kashmir,” he said.

Geelani said the army’s “war crimes” in Kashmir should be probed by the United Nation’s War Crime Tribunal. “New Delhi has always tried to push the crimes of army under the carpet and therefore any state appointed commission cannot be entrusted with an inquiry into Kulgam or any other such incident,” he said.

“Like the Shopian double rape and murder case, there has been a conscious effort on part of the authorities to cover up the crimes of men in uniform in such incidents, and the state government is equally responsible for it,” he said.

Geelani reiterated his call for a complete shutdown on Saturday.

Several other pro-freedom leaders including also strongly condemned the alleged abduction and gang rape of a woman in Kulgam by army men.
Chairman of the parallel Hurriyat faction, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, while condemning the alleged abduction and rape of the woman said lack of action against the men in uniform “involved” in incidents like Shopian double rape and murder case “encourages mischievous elements to play with the emotions of Kashmiris.”

“Why are the organizations working for human rights in India and abroad silent on this issue?” Mirwaiz asked, according to a spokesman.

“There is army raj in Jammu and Kashmir, and instead of demilitarization and scrapping the black laws that give impunity to forces, the army is being vested with more powers and its interference in the affairs of the state is increasing day by day,” he said.

Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front acting chairman Bashir Ahmad Bhat, senior Hurriyat(M) leaders Nayeem Ahmad Khan and Shabir Ahmad Shah along with several other pro-freedom leaders have also condemned the incident and demanded an independent probe into it.


Kulgam 'rape': Geelani demands independent probe - Kashmir Dispatch