Schoolgirl at the heart of current crisis in Indian-controlled Kashmir held by police

As the ongoing unrest seems to deepen with the fifth killing, the schoolgirl who is apparently at the heart of current crisis in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir has been in police custody.

While the family says she has been detained illegally, officials said she was in "preventive custody".

On Friday, the girl's mother approached a Srinagar based right's group, the Coalition of Civil Societies, seeking their help in securing the release of her daughter and husband.

The trouble erupted on Tuesday after an irate crowd in Handwara town of frontier Kupwara district, about 71 km northwest of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir, took to roads over an alleged sexual assault bid on a schoolgirl at the hands of Indian army trooper.

Police officials said the noisy protesters tried to attack army post in the town after which troopers fired on them killing three people including a 55-year-old woman.

In the evening a mobile phone video of the girl was leaked (apparently by police) denying involvement of any trooper and blaming local youth of inciting protests.

The next day the Indian army officially released the video to exonerate itself.

The video filmed inside a police station contains a statement of the girl (with her face blurred) and a male voice urging her to speak.

However, the protests failed to die down and since then two more young people were killed in the district, taking toll to five.

On Saturday, mother of the girl told media in Srinagar that her daughter was coerced to give statement inside police station and she was not being allowed to meet her family.

"She is a young girl aged just 16, she has been pressurized to make the statement," the girl's mother told media. "She has been illegally kept under custody for the last five days and we are not allowed to meet her."

Narrating the sequence of events, her mother blamed army trooper for trying to sexually assault her daughter.

"After coming out of the school along with her classmates, she entered the washroom in the marketplace. The army trooper appeared suddenly, prompting her to scream, which evoked attention of local boys who couldn't tolerate the screams of their sister. A crowd gathered and after that police and army opened fire killing our boys."

Since Tuesday, the girl is in police custody and was not allowed to go home or meet relatives.

Reports said when the girl's father approached police asking for her daughter, he too was detained in the police station.

"On Thursday, the mother of the 16-year-old minor girl, who has alleged sexual assault by the armed forces personnel approached our office for urgent and immediate legal assistance in getting her daughter and husband released," Khurram Parvez, the coordinator of CCS told Xinhua.

"The minor girl and her father are in police custody. The mother of the minor girl fears that her family members, particularly her daughter, are under pressure to make false statements."

Police and local officials told media the girl along with her father have sought protection and were in "preventive custody".

"The girl and her father are in our protective custody after they sought protection from police," Uttam Chand, a senior police official told media.

However, the rights groups have accused the police of illegally detaining the girl and questioned the the way video statement was recorded and circulated.

"The video statement of the minor girl is illegal as it was taken in absence of her guardians and without their approval, so the manner in which the video has been recorded and then circulated is a gross violation of the special protections afforded to minors particularly during investigation of sexual assault cases," Parvez said.

"The actions of the police and the army will necessarily invite criminal prosecution if investigated."

The local authorities on Saturday prevented CCS from holding a press briefing in their office. The office was cordoned off by dozens of policemen in full riot gears carrying assault rifles.

"We can not allow you inside the CCS office as we have directions to stop media," a police official said. "There will be no press conference here so better you leave from here."

Meanwhile, the region's high court asked police to cite the law under which they have detained the girl.

Indian-controlled Kashmir is considered as one of the highest militarized regions in the world. Indian troops and police are consistently accused of grave human rights violations in the region.

Anti-India sentiment runs deep in the psyche of the majority of Kashmiris. Residents in the restive region took to roads to show resistance by hurling brickbats and stones on government forces, who respond by firing tear smoke shells and bullets, which often proves fatal.

A guerrilla war is also going on between militants and Indian troops stationed in the region since 1989. Kashmir, the Himalayan region divided between India and Pakistan, is claimed by both in full. Since their Independence from Britain, the two countries have fought three wars, two exclusively over Kashmir.

Source: XINHUA