Handawara: Girl Pressurised to Give Video Statement, Says Mother

Mother of the girl has filed a petition in High Court seeking the release of the girl from police custody.

The mother of the victim of the alleged harassment that led to clashes in Handawara has accused the police of defaming the girl by releasing the video confession. (Photo: AP)

The family of the girl, whose alleged harassment led to a spate of violence in Kashmir has claimed that the girl was pressurised into giving a video statement denying she was molested. The relatives of the girl have approached the court seeking an independent probe into the incident.

My girl is just 16 years old and was alone in the police station when her statement was recorded. She was pressurised by police to give that statement.

<b>Taja Begum, Mother of Victim</b>

A civil society group scheduled a press conference for the family but it was not allowed by the police. Talking to reporters, the girl’s mother, Taja Begum, alleged that police have detained her daughter without informing the family. She accused the police of “defaming” her daughter by revealing her identity to the media.

When the girl was returning home after school on Tuesday, she went to a bathroom and was followed by an army man. When she saw the army man in the bathroom, she raised an alarm, attracting the attention of the nearby shopkeepers.

The mother of the victim also added that the minor girl was taken to the police station without the knowledge of the family. She said that the family is not being allowed to meet the girl and that the father and aunt of the victim have also been detained.

HC Questions J&K Police on Detention of Girl

The Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Saturday directed the police to cite the law under which they have detained the girl who was allegedly molested on Tuesday.

Justice MH Attar directed the Superintendent of Police Handwara and SHO of the concerned police station to tell the court under which law they have detained the minor girl, her father and aunt since the incident on 12 April.

Taja Begum, the mother of the 16-year-old girl, filed a petition before the High Court seeking the release of her daughter from “illegal detention” of police.

<b>Parvaiz Imroz, Counsel, Taja Begum</b>

Imroz also submitted before the court that the petitioner apprehends that the lives of her minor daughter, husband and sister are in jeopardy. The next hearing of the case will take place on 20 April.

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