While we were busy celebrating mother’s day, there was one mother who was screaming in pain as her innocent 3-YO-daughter lived a nightmare.
Recently, people in Kashmir have taken to streets to protest against the rape of a 3-year-old girl in Sambal, Bandipora district. The protests recently turned violent and have spilled across the valley with people demanding strict punishment.
People in Kashmir have made it very clear that they won’t take any case of child abuse lightly.
The protests in parts of Srinagar, Budgam, and Bandipur has forced authorities to close all educational institutions including schools and colleges.
According to reports, the incident happened in Sumbal area of Bandipora district on Thursday.
The accused, a local youth, allegedly lured the three-year-old offering her candy and took her to a nearby school where he sexually abused her.
The local police told:
“After iftar, the child accompanied her uncle to the nearby mosque. Upon reaching the mosque, the uncle told her to head back home and that was when the accused caught her”
According to police, the accused, who belongs to the same village, allegedly lured the girl by offering her chewing gum and took her to the toilet of the school where he allegedly raped her.
The horrific incident came to light after the girl narrated it to her parents.
Recalling their nightmare, the girl’s father spoke to BBC and said,
“She was screaming for her mother. We rushed to the school and found her bleeding in the bathroom. The accused tried to flee, but we caught him. We want justice and stringent punishment”
After the victim’s father filed a complaint, the police arrested the accused on 9 May. But, accused produced a school certificate to declare himself as a minor to save himself from the punishment.
This act further angered the people as they demanded the death penalty for rapist who preyed upon the young girl.
After four days of arrest, police sources said preliminary medical examination has revealed he is not a minor. A senior police official told PTI that the medical examination of the accused suggested that he is an adult.
“We are treating the accused as a major and not as a juvenile,” the official said.
Police have also detained the principal of the accused’s school for issuing a birth certificate which states he is 16 years old.
Though the government has urged people to maintain calm, the police have assured that the investigation in the case will be completed soon.
The police official shared:
“This is a horrific incident and something that is very rare in a place like Kashmir. We immediately took the accused into custody and we hope that the case is fast-tracked,”
It is not the first time that the protests against rape have rocked Kashmir. Last year, Kathua Rape Case shook the whole country when 8-year-old was brutally raped and murdered. But, this time people have protested fiercely to show zero tolerance towards the minor rape culture.
We want to ask those people, who often blame women for inviting unwanted attention, what did this 3-YO do to get raped?
We couldn’t stop but remembering hard-hitting lines,