SRINAGAR: A mysterious death of a 15-year-old girl has sent shock waves across the Pir Panjal region in the Jammu division.
On September 21, the girl was found hanging inside her home at Bhatadhurian village in Poonch district.
Police immediately started the inquest proceedings under Section 174 of CrPC. Police are waiting for a post-mortem report to unravel the mystery.
Sub-division Police officer (SDPO), Mendhar, Zahir Abbaas Jaffri told The Kashmir Monitor that the investigation is in full swing.
“There is a provision in CrPC about a suspicious death. Before registering an FIR, a thorough investigation has to be conducted. We have started the proceedings under Section 174 of CrPC. If during the investigation we found it as a murder, we will register the case under section 302 of Indian Penal Code (IPC),” he said.
Jaffri said they are questioning different people to reach the bottom of the case. “Questioning of people including family members are on. It will determine our further course of action,” he said.
This is the second case that has rocked the border town of Mendhar in less than a month.
On August 24, a 36-year-old government teacher was killed by her cop-husband at Keri Gursai village in Mendhar. Police later arrested constable Mohammad Irfan Manhas and his mother for allegedly strangling Shahnaz Akhtar to death.
Earlier on August 11, a sister allegedly killed her brother after he objected to her relationship with a local boy in Rajouri. Ankit Bakshi, 24, was found dead in his house at Chakli village. During the investigation, police found that Bakshi was allegedly murdered by his sister Priya Bakshi along with her boyfriend Rajan Sharma and a juvenile.
NCRB figures reveal that there has been a marginal increase in the overall crime rate in Jammu and Kashmir.
Police have registered 28911 cases under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and State Local Law (SLW) in 2020. In 2019, 25408 cases were registered, while 27276 cases were booked in 2018.
National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 2020 report reveals that more than 183 people were murdered in Jammu and Kashmir last year. Around 143 cases of murder under section 302 IPC were registered last year. Likewise, 581 cases of attempt to murder involving 677 victims were registered last year.
Crime branch figures reveal that 119 people were murdered in 2019. There were 419 attempts to murder cases registered in Jammu and Kashmir. Police also registered 180 cases of stabbing and 962 cases of abduction of kids in 2019.
NCRB data reveal that 243 rape cases involving 247 victims were registered in Jammu and Kashmir in 2020. At least 10 attempt to rape cases has been registered in different police stations. Eleven cases of unnatural offences have also been reported from Jammu and Kashmir last year.
Around 300 cases of rapes were registered in 2019. Around 1452 molestation cases and 63 eve-teasing cases were also registered in Jammu and Kashmir. Eight dowry deaths and 346 cases of cruelty by husbands were also registered. 1238 cases of burglary, 73 robberies, one dacoity, and 177 cases of arson were also registered in 2019.
