SRINAGAR: A day after Handwara girl addressed press in Srinagar and revealed the events, All Parties Hurriyat Conference (G) chairperson Syed Ali Geelani on Tuesday said that the incident should be investigated by an impartial commission.
Demanding immediate action the involved higher officials of army and police, Geelani termed the revelations as reflection of the grave crimes of the men in uniform against the women in Kashmir.
The Indian army has always used rape and molestation of women as a major war weapon in Jammu & Kashmir and it is the responsibility of the United Nations War Crimes Tribunal and the human rights organizations to take serious notice of this situation and come to the rescue of the innocent women of this region, the ailing octogenarian said in a statement this evening.
Geelani said that the molestation and rape of the women by the Indian army is a norm in Kashmir and the border district Kupwara is the most affected region in this regard.
These kinds of incidents mostly do not come to fore due to the social stigma attached with the rape and the molestation cases, he said.
While citing mass rape incident of Poshpora, Geelani said, India has always tried to protect its forces personnel and hide their crime against the women in Kashmir. A senior most leader of BJP has on record said that we cant punish our soldiers who are involved in the crimes against the women in Kashmir because it will affect their moral.
This policy has made the Indian army more bold and brave in committing these crimes and they dont hesitate in doing such acts, he added.
Strongly criticizing the J&K Police for their leading role in the cover up of the crimes, Geelani further said, the way the state police have tried to hide the crime in Handwara and save the involved army personnel, it is very sorrowful and concerning.
He demanded immediate suspension of SP Handwara and other involved police personnel and investigation of this incident by some independent commission. With the recent statement of the girl, the case has taken a serious turn and this case is needed to be investigated from the beginning so that the real culprits will be held accountable.
The professional responsibility of the police is the protection of the life, property and honour of the people but in Jammu & Kashmir it goes quit opposite. The police in this region have turned into a mafia and instead of saving people and controlling crimes they are siding with the criminals and are misusing their powers against the general public. This filthy and criminal character of the police has made the common man of Kashmir extremely unsafe, he alleged.
Geelani said, the police in Jammu & Kashmir are playing the role of a personal and private organization of Indian army and the pro-Indian politicians. This institution has also become a hub of the corrupt practices. The corruption in the police department is so organized that it has become a kind of trade within the department and the corruption money flows from top to the bottom smoothly.
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