• 15-year-old tribal girl dies in Kishtwar following alleged rape,
• Botched pregnancy termination; three arrested
• Protests continue across Jammu region, protesters seek strict action
Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary on Saturday condemned the death of a 15-year-old tribal girl in Kishtwar following an alleged rape and botched attempt to terminate her pregnancy, asserting that the government would take every necessary step to prevent violence and injustice against children.
Calling the incident “unfortunate and disturbing”, Choudhary said there could be no justification for cruelty against girls or children and warned that no one should believe they could commit such acts with impunity.
The minor girl was allegedly raped repeatedly by her school teacher over several months, resulting in pregnancy. She died on Thursday in the Chatroo area of Kishtwar district during an alleged attempt to terminate the pregnancy. Police have arrested the accused teacher, besides the school headmaster and his brother.
“There are no words to adequately condemn what happened,” Choudhary said, adding that police action had already been initiated in the case.
Choudhary said the Omar Abdullah-led government would not remain silent if such incidents continued and would take all possible measures to ensure the safety and protection of girls.
He also pointed out that the police are not under the administrative control of the elected J&K government, but maintained that this could not be an excuse for allowing injustice against people, particularly children.
Meanwhile, protests continued for the third consecutive day across parts of Jammu, Kishtwar and Doda over the incident. Students and other protesters demanded a fair and transparent investigation, strict punishment for those responsible and accountability of anyone found negligent.
The protesters also called for stronger safeguards to protect children and prevent such incidents from recurring.
During a surprise inspection of a government hospital in Jammu, Choudhary also directed the administration to address complaints of mismanagement.
He expressed concern over the deployment of girl students at the hospital’s reception counter, saying students should not be assigned duties unrelated to their academic purpose.
The Deputy Chief Minister directed the hospital authorities to stop assigning students reception duties and instead deploy security personnel or designated staff to guide patients and visitors.
He said the hospital superintendent had been instructed to undertake immediate corrective measures and improve the overall functioning of the facility.
