Minor Raped Hours After J&K Passes Death Penalty Ordinance, 1 Held

The girl has named two people, aged 24 and 27, as the accused. Investigations are underway.

A representational image of anti-rape protests.

(Photo: The Quint)

One of the two accused in the rape case of a minor in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch has been arrested by the police on Wednesday, 25 April. A minor girl was allegedly raped by two men on Tuesday, 24 April, in Poonch, Jammu and Kashmir. The girl has named two people, aged 24 and 27, as the accused.

The accused was presented before a district court in Poonch earlier on Wednesday.

The incident took place a few hours after the Jammu and Kashmir government officially approved the death penalty or life imprisonment for those who rape children up to the age of 12 years.

As reported by The Indian Express, the girl had reportedly gone missing from school in the Jhalas area, when the accused had taken her to an isolated place and raped her, she said.

The report mentions that the girl was taken to a district hospital for a full medical examination to determine whether she had been sexually assaulted.

She will also be produced in front of the court to have her statement recorded.

Earlier in the day, the Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet had approved two ordinances related to the punishment meted out to child rapists.

“The ordinance to be promulgated by the state Governor would be at par with the central government law on death to accused found guilty of raping a victim up to 12 years of age,” it said. 

“Those guilty of raping a victim aged between 13 and 16 will get the death penalty. The amendment seeks that the investigations in rape and sexual assault cases would be carried out by women police officers and these would be completed within two months,”
it added.

(This is a developing story. With inputs from The Indian Express)

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