13 yr old girl ‘repeatedly raped’ in Ramban

Srinagar, Jan 10: A 13-year-old Muslim girl from Ramban district of Jammu region was, allegedly, repeatedly raped last year by a man from the same area.
The incident came to the fore after the girl became unwell a few days ago.
Victim’s family, who live in Varnal Sarbagni area of the district, rushed her to the hospital where doctors told them she has been raped multiple times.
The victim narrated the incident before the magistrate that she was raped for the last three months. Following which the police arrested the accused Sanju Singh of Varnal area of Ramban.
The girl was admitted to a Jammu hospital for three days from where she was discharged on Thursday.
“She has told the police that she was kidnapped by the accused and then raped. The victim said that she remained silent as the accused had threatened her and her family of dire consequences,” a source close to family said.
The source said that the victim’s family claims that she was gang-raped. “The family says that only one accused has been arrested, while others are roaming free,” the source said.
The family and her relatives also held the protest against the crime.
Talib Hussain, a lawyer and social activist, also held a protest at Ramban against the rape of girl.
“We were not allowed to visit her home. We were stopped on the way to her home,” Talib told The Kashmir Monitor.
“As per the father’s statement, many people are involved in the rape. But it seems that something is being hushed up and people also told me that case was being kept under the wraps,” said Talib, who had been at the forefront for demanding justice in the Kathua rape-n-murder case.
Last year, Kashmir, along with other parts of India, was shocked after the gang rape and murder of an eight-year-old Muslim girl from Kathua.
In the current Ramban case, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted which is supervised by additional superintendent of police, Sanjay Parihar, with deputy superintendent of police, Banihal, Sajad Ahmed as its member.
DSP Sajad said that the girl gave the statement before the magistrate based on which police has arrested the accused.
“The incident came to the fore when the victim’s monthly periods stopped. Following which she was being drugged by the accused and started bleeding. She was taken to the hospital where it was confirmed that she has been raped,” the DSP told The Kashmir Monitor.
He said that police arrested the accused Sanju Singh who is currently in their custody.
“He (accused) is around 20 to 25 years old,” the DSP said.
Asked about the family’s claim that several people were involved, the DSP said: “We arrested the accused on the basis of the victim’s statement. Father can say anything but we acted on the statement of the girl.”
He also denied that accusations that “police was hushing up the matter”.