Kishtwar Horror: Elderly Community Leader Arrested Over Alleged Bid to Silence Girl's Family

As some members of the Panchayat allegedly tried to hush up the heinous sexual exploitation and death of a Class 5 tribal girl in the Chatroo area of Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district, sleuths of the Crime Branch of the J&K Police on Sunday arrested an elderly community leader who allegedly offered money to the victim's family to shield the main accused.

The 85-year-old community leader, Peer Bakash, allegedly intervened in the matter and forced the father of the victim to agree to an abortion after the minor girl, a Class 5 student, became pregnant following alleged sexual exploitation by the headmaster of her school.

Reports said Peer Bakash, who describes himself as a community leader, convened a meeting of prominent persons, including some religious leaders, and allegedly pressured the victim's father to accept money from the main accused, the school headmaster, in an attempt to hush up the crime.

It is further alleged that, through bribery andintimidation,Peer Bakash forced the victim's father to facilitate the illegal termination of the minor girl's pregnancy.

With the arrest of Peer Bakash, the number of persons arrested in the case has risen to ten, including the main accused, the headmaster of the government school, and two female employees of the Health Department.

As reported earlier, the case involving the death of the Class 5 tribal girl, who allegedly delivered a stillborn child following an illegal termination of pregnancy, has been handed over to the Crime Branch of the Jammu and Kashmir Police for investigation.

Demands by various organisations for action against community leaders who allegedly attempted to hush up the incident have gained momentum.

The Tribal Gujjar Bakarwal Welfare Foundation has urged the authorities to ensure the safety and security of the victim's family, which has alleged that the accused enjoy considerable influence in the area.

Foundation Chairman Dr Naseeb Ali, a professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), had earlier told The International Business Times that some influential people in the area had allegedly attempted to hush up the incident by threatening and offering money to the economically vulnerable tribal family.

"The family of the accused persons is influential, and attempts are allegedly being made through threats, pressure or other means to influence the economically vulnerable nomadic family of the deceased child and hush up the matter," Dr Ali said.

Earlier, Chatroo Police had registered an FIR and arrested nine persons in the horrific case involving the Class 5 tribal girl who died after allegedly being repeatedly sexually assaulted by her school headmaster.

Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition in the J&K Legislative Assembly Sunil Sharma said the fight for justice was far from over in the case of the minor Gujjar girl who died during an abortion following an allegedsexual assault.

Sharma made the remarks while speaking to media persons after visiting the family of the deceased girl in the remote Chatroo area of Kishtwar district.

The Class 5 student was allegedly raped by her teacher for months, resulting in her pregnancy. She died on August 20 during an abortion attempt. Her death prompted demands for a thorough and independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident, following which the case was handed over to the Crime Branch on August 29.

The BJP leader said the crime had "crossed all limits of brutality" and "shamed humanity", while asserting that people had risen above political and personal differences to stand with the victim's family.

He said the BJP leadership had remained in continuous contact with the family and the administration, adding that one of the key demands—to hand over the investigation to the Crime Branch—had been fulfilled.

Raising concerns over the socio-economic condition of the Gujjar community in the region, Sharma alleged that the community had faced suppression for a long time and said incidents targeting its children needed to be viewed seriously.