After being pulled up by the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST), the Jammu and Kashmir Police have invoked the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act into the ongoing investigation of rape and death of a 14-year-old tribal girl in Chatroo. Kishtwar district observed a complete shutdown on Thursday.
The NCST has issued a notice to J&K chief secretary Atal Dulloo, DGP Nalin Prabhat and Kishtwar SSP Naresh Singh directing them to furnish their reply within five days into the progress made in the case so far. The 14-year-old girl was allegedly raped multiple times and impregnated by her school headmaster Khalid Hussain Sheikh, 42, that caused her seven to eight months of pregnancy, investigators have said. The headmaster allegedly connived with his two brothers — Tariq Hussain and Riaz Hussain — and others to illegally terminate the pregnancy through some medications that led to her death. Five people in total have been apprehended by the police so far.
SSP Naresh Singh said Sections 3(1)(w)(i), 3(2)(v) and 3(2)(va) of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act have been invoked. Initially, Sections 4, 6, 8, 10 and 17 of the POCSO Act and 61(2),65(1), 90, 91 and 92 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita were slapped. “Further arrests, wherever warranted by evidence, are underway,” he said.
The Tribal Gujjar Bakkerwal Welfare Foundation, which moved the NCST, had pointed out the serious lapse that despite deceased girl belonging to the Scheduled Tribe category, the applicable provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act have reportedly not been invoked.
The Gurjar Desh Charitable Trust (GDCT) labelled the case as “a catastrophic failure of institutional safety and local law enforcement”.
“The department of school education must initiate immediate and rigorous safety audits across all schools in remote and tribal belts to protect vulnerable students from future exploitation,” he added.
Amid shutdown in Kishtwar following a joint call by the Majlis-e-Shura and Sanatan Dharam Sabha, the district administration had deployed police and paramilitary forces to maintain law and order. Shops and business establishments remained closed across the district, while public transport was also affected. Adjoining Doda district also observed a partial bandh.