: Amid unrelenting street protests in the Kashmir Valley, especially by students, against the rape of a three-year-old, the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir on Wednesday took suo moto cognisance of the case. Chief Justice Gitta Mittal directed the Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, “to submit a status report on Friday”.
The incident took place on May 8 in Bandipora’s Trehgam area.
The authorities in Sopore, Anantnag, Ganderbal, Bandipora and Srinagar districts have closed most of the government colleges to contain the protests.
A clash between students and security forces on Tuesday at Amar Singh Degree College located in the heart of Srinagar left a number of students injured.
The victim and the accused, a school dropout and mechanic by profession, belong to two different sects of a particular community. A medical report has confirmed the sexual assault of the child, who lived in the neighbourhood of the accused. The accused had been taken into custody.
“The accused has been booked under rape charges and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act,” a police official said.
Call to end protests
Meanwhile, a meeting chaired by Moulana Masroor Abbas Ansari, head of Shia religious body Itehad-ul-Muslimeen, called for an end to the protests.
The meeting passed a five-point resolution. “Let protests be put on hold till the police completes its probe. We urge people of Kashmir to call off the protests and to wait till police completes its investigation into the gruesome incident that has left Kashmir in a deep shock and pain,” it said.
The meeting was attended by religious and civil society groups.
Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq supported the initiative of Mr. Ansari and warned people against "failing prey to the designs to stoke sectarian divide over this heartrending case.”