35-year-old Man Held for ‘Raping, Impregnating’ Minor Girl in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag

Anantnag: A 35-year-old man from Uttersoo area of Anantnag in south Kashmir was arrested on charges of raping and impregnating a 14-year-old girl. According to family members of the victim, the girl complained of abdominal pain a few days ago. Her father first took her to a local spiritual healer but due to her deteriorating condition, she was later hospitalized at Anantnag where she was declared eight months pregnant by the doctors.

The family subsequently raised an alarm, and with the intervention of local Auqaf Committee and civil society members, a formal complaint was lodged in Uttersoo police station in Shangas area of Anantnag. After the complaint was filed, the police registered a case in this regard.

A police official confirmed the arrest of the accused and said that further investigations are underway.

The family members say that the accused – a man living in their neighbourhood – is a relative of the victim’s mother, and would visit their home on one pretext or another. During this period, the accused lured the minor girl and had allegedly raped her on several occasions in the last months.

As per sources, the victim in her statement to police, accused the man of giving her sedatives and raping her. The accused then accused threatened her with dire consequence if she revealed it to anyone.

The incident has sent shockwaves in the locality and residents are demanding rigorous punishment for the accused. The local Auqaf president and social activist Beigh Fayaz told News18 that this crime is of heinous nature and if the accused is proved guilty, he should be rigorously punished according to the law of land.