Total 2.14 crore voters in 13 Lok Sabha constituencies of Punjab
Srinagar: In a major twist in the Handwara molestation case, the girl whose complaint led to violent protests in the region, said on Monday that she had been forced to record a false statement while in custody and had also been abused.
The girl was allegedly molested by armymen and triggered protests in the state but she later claimed it was a rumour spread by hate-mongers and that she was just eve-teased by some local youth. But in a major u-turn, the victim on Monday claimed the police forced her into making that statement in order to protect the image of the army.
“To save their armymen, my image was kept at stake, why?’ the victim asked as she leveled serious charges against the J&K police.
“They (policemen) spoke to me nicely so I narrated the whole incident to them. After which they told me not to tell the real story to anyone. And added that if I divulged anything, then my family and me might land in trouble. They threatened us with our lives. I told them that to lie is wrong and I won’t lie. There and then, one of the three policemen got up and slapped me and forced me to lie. I retaliated for a while and then I succumbed to their pressure and changed my statement,” said the victim.
“The police misbehaved with me, nobody came forward to help. While I was sitting at the police station, several policemen abused me and went away. After a long time, a woman police constable took me to a room and left after a while. The three policemen came into the room with their faces covered,” she added.
Handwara witnessed massive clashes between the police and locals on April 12 after the news of a girl being molested by an army soldier spread. The area was under curfew for a week.
Five people were killed in firing by security forces during the protests. But in a controversial video shot inside a police station, the girl had denied the molestation allegation. The girl has now changed her statement saying she was under pressure.
