Nomad woman raped and murdered in Kashmir, four arrested

Srinagar, May 5 (IANS) Four people were arrested by police for the sexual assault and murder of a nomadic woman in Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar city.

Police said on Monday that a nomadic woman died after being allegedly sexually assaulted by a group of drunken men near Water Works Road in the Nishat area of Srinagar.

“The woman, originally from Reasi district and presently putting up in the Nishat area, was attacked by four individuals who were reportedly under the influence of alcohol. She sustained injuries during the assault and was shifted to a hospital, where doctors declared her brought dead," said the officials.

“The accused have been arrested and a case has been registered. Further investigation is underway,” police said.

Gujjar leader and MLA from Kangan Assembly constituency, Mian Meher Ali said, “A Bakerwal girl has been brutally assaulted and raped, leading to her death, by two men in Nishat area of Srinagar today. “I demand a fast-track investigation into the incident and exemplary punishment for the perpetrators.”

The alleged rape and murder of an innocent nomadis woman has resulted in outrage among the locals with everyone expressing shock and anger at the incident.

Crimes against women are otherwise few and far between in Kashmir society, where the spiritual influence of women saints like ‘Lal Ded’ cuts across religious barriers. Both local Muslims and Hindus have respected the saint, whose piety and spiritual purity have become proverbial in the Valley.

Social media has been awash with locals demanding exemplary punishment for those involved in this heinous crime.

In 2023, a court in Srinagar sentenced two persons to life imprisonment and a fine of Rs 40 lakh in an acid attack case on a girl, who was working in a beauty parlour to support her family.

Police had prepared the charge sheet in a record period of three months and got the accused sentenced by the court.

The verdict was appreciated by the common Kashmiri, who has always said that crimes against women should he dealt with on the fast track to get the guilty punished quickly.

--IANS

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