A teenage girl was allegedly molested by three men, who also took her photos with a cell phone, in a suburban area of Muzaffarabad over the weekend.
Fourteen-year-old Zahra*, claimed she was sexually assaulted by her distant relatives over a property dispute between her immediate family and that of the accused.
Ashfaq Ahmed, Zahra’s elder brother, alleged that constable Asghar Ali and his family had been threatening them to give up ownership of a piece of land, some 15 kanals in size, in Nairiyan village, Langarpura Union Council of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
“We obtained possession of the land in 1995 after swapping it with our paternal uncle,” Ahmed said, adding that Asghar Ali’s family used it to graze cattle.
“They cannot graze cattle on the land anymore which is why they have developed an enmity with us,” added 21-year-old Ahmed, who works as a domestic servant at a government official’s house.
Zahra’s uncle Yousaf claimed that his niece, a student in sixth grade, was in school when Farooq, one of Ali’s sons and a volunteer teacher at the same school, told her to go home before the school day was over.
As Zahra left for home, she was intercepted by three men, added the uncle.
“Two of the attackers tore her shirt apart, molested her and took pictures of her from their mobile phone while the third, also a police employee, looked on,” Zahra’s uncle claimed.
“It lasted for about half an hour,” he said. The three men then fled the scene, according to Yousaf.
Zahra corroborated details of the incident and showed the torn clothes to the media.
The family has submitted an application to Garhi Dupatta Police Station Monday but a First Information Report (FIR) has yet to be lodged.
Yousaf alleged that the delay by the police in registering the FIR is because the accused are being sheltered by the police department.
“Instead of giving us justice, the police is asking us to reconcile with the accused,” he added.
Zahra’s family also met Muzaffarabad Deputy Commissioner Tehzeeb-un-Nisa and submitted an application narrating the incident, and asking her to take official notice.
Nisa verified that the family had indeed met her and that she had told the Garhi Dupatta SHO to register an FIR immediately and arrest the culprits.
“I have also asked the victim’s family to come to me if no progress is made by the police,” she added.
*The names have been changed to protect identities