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Tuesday, August 16, 2011


Kulgam ‘gang rape’ turns out to be false

FSL report: No medical evidence of rape on Ruqayya

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Aug 16: Allegation of abduction and rape, leveled against unidentified soldiers of Army by a young woman in Kulgam district of South Kashmir, has proved to be false. Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) has found no evidence of the woman having been abducted or raped even as a Special Investigation Team (SIT) had earlier failed to find any circumstantial evidence to establish the crime.

Addressing a news conference at his office today, DC Kulgam, Farooq Ahmad Khan, revealed that FSL had not found any evidence of the complainant Ruqayya W/o Lateef Bhatti R/o Gujjardar, Manzgam, having been raped. As already reported, Ruqayya had complained to Tehsildar and Police on July 21st that she had been “abducted and raped” by two unidentified soldiers of Army in Chhiranbal area where the family’s herds were grazing in Pir Panjal foothills.

SP Kulgam, Mubassir Lateefi, head of the SIT and Additional SP Kulgam, Mohammad Shafi Mir, as also two other members of the SIT, Assistant Commissioner Revenue Tassaduq Hussain and Dy SP Zulfikar Choudhary, were also present at the press conference.

DC and SP of Kulgam further revealed that the complainant woman’s statement was recorded initially before an executive magistrate immediately after she came forward with the allegation on July 21. Case FIR No: 66 of 2011 under section 376 RPC was registered at Police Station Damhal Hanjipora.

On DGP’s orders, SIT was constituted and the complainant was got medically examined at District Hospital of Kulgam. Her vaginal swabs were collected by a team of doctors under supervision of Chief Medical Officer Dr Altaf, Medical Superintendent of District Hospital Kulgam Dr Zahoor and Gynecologist Dr Shazia Afzal. These were sent for analysis and medico-legal opinion to FSL Srinagar.

 Thereafter, on the complainant’s guidance members of SIT conducted an inspection of the area and the dhok where she had been allegedly raped. No circumstantial evidence of Ruqayya’s abduction or rape could be found. All the eyewitnesses, examined at nearby dhoks, maintained that nothing like abduction or rape had taken place in Chhiranbal area.

On return from Chhiranbal, SIT got the statements of the complainant woman, her husband Lateef Bhatti, brothers-in-law Shahwali and Ismail, and mother-in-law Aamina Bi, recorded under section 164-A of Cr PC before two judicial magistrates. While as the complainant’s statement was recorded before Chief Judicial Magistrate of Kulgam, Mohammad Ashraf Khan, who is a Gojri language knowing judge, those of others were recorded before Judicial Magistrate (Munsiff) of Damhal Hanjipora.

Mother-in-law, husband and both brothers-in-law contradicted Ruqayya’s statement that she had been abducted in the evening on July 19th. All of them invariably maintained that she had been at their dhok alongwith her husband on night intervening July 19/20. Most significantly, the complaint retracted her previous allegation and deposed before CJM that she had been neither abducted nor raped.

Ruqayya, according to SP Lateefi, revealed subsequently that “some persons” had prompted her to level the allegation of abduction and rape against Army. SP said that Police had gathered some vital clues and leads and the individuals having provoked Ruqayya would be soon arrested for further investigation and prosecution.

After a detailed analysis of the vaginal swabs, FSL submitted that no human spermatozoa, in any form, had been found in the specimen. It concluded that there was no evidence of rape. Over three-week-long investigation and the final medical opinion from the team of doctors that had medically examined the woman on July 21, SIT concluded the matter as not admitted.

SP Kulgam said that Police were now looking for a couple of individuals who are believed to have prompted Ruqayya to level serious allegation of abduction and rape against Army. He said that some more people had attempted to create mayhem over the false allegation while posting provocative matter and some other woman’s photograph on the social networking site Facebook.

END

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