The
State Women’s Commission on Monday said the school girl, whose alleged
molestation by an army man triggered protests in Handwara, should be
shifted to “a safer place”, saying she can’t be kept in “police custody
all the time”.
“We are in touch with the girl’s family and trying to shift her to a
place where she feels safe and secure. We will shift her with the
consent of her family and away from police custody. She can’t be kept in
police custody all the time,” Chairperson of SWC, Nayeema Mahjoor told
Greater Kashmir.
The Commission Secretary had met the family and the girl a few days ago, she said.
The girl and her father, according to J&K Coalition of Civil
Society (JKCCS), have been “illegally kept” at a relative’s house in
Zachaldara Handwara by police and not allowed to meet anybody.
“They have effectively been kept in illegal police detention and
wrongful confinement… The minor girl and family have at no point sought
police protection,” said a statement issued by JKCCS.
“She (girl) is being hounded…she is in shock. We will shift her to a place where she feels protected,” said Mehjoor.
Two youth in their early 20s were killed on last Tuesday after army
opened fire to disperse a group of protesters who were protesting
against the alleged molestation of the girl by an army man inside a
public lavatory in main Handwara market. The killings led to massive
protests in the town and its adjoining areas and in the two days that
followed three more persons including an elderly woman were killed in
firing by forces.
After the killings the army released a video of the girl denying
the molestation allegations. However her mother, while addressing a
press conference here on Saturday, said the girl had been pressurized by
police to give the statement in defense of Army, following which the
High Court asked the police to explain the grounds on which they
“detained” the minor girl.
But next day, the police said the girl deposed before the Chief
Judicial Magistrate Handwara, “maintaining she was not molested by the
army personnel.”
The SWC Chairperson said the case has got “shrouded in mystery”.
“We can understand that she (girl) needed (police) protection during
initial days as she was being hounded… But how long can be she kept in
police custody. We have to think in long terms about her career and life
ahead. That is more important,” said Mahjoor.
The JKCCS has also petitioned the commission seeking its intervention over the “illegal confinement” of the girl.
“The Commission promised to assist in appropriate re-location of
the family to a private and safe place, away from media and police or
other official interference but with unhindered access to the right of
the family to lawyers,” a JKCCS statement said.