A brutal and barbaric case of rape and murder of a 9-year-old girl has come to light in Boniyar, Uri. According to reports, Uri police have claimed that after the decomposed and mutilated body of the girl was found in a forest on September 2nd, they had solved the case and have arrested 5 accused persons, including the girl’s stepmother and halfbrother.
Moving. Top @JmuKmrPolice cop SSP Baramulla @hussain_imtiyaz breaks down while narrating the details of horrific rape and murder of a 9 year old girl in Boniyar, Uri of North Kashmir. Kudos to J&K Police for arresting all accused including step mother and brother within 48 hours. pic.twitter.com/1rkawcvYZD
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) September 4, 2018
Journalist Aditya Raj Kaul had shared a video of SSP Baramulla Imtiyaz Hussain stating that this was the most heinous and barbaric case of rape and murder he had seen. Sesh Paul Vaid, the DGP of Jammu and Kashmir has expressed on social media that the bone-chilling rape and murder was committed on the instigation of the stepmother and it is a case worse than the Kathua rape and murder case.
A bone chilling story of gang rape and murder of a 9 year old girl in #Uri by her step brother and 2 other accused instigated by her step mother. A case worse than Asifa of Rasana Kathua. @JmuKmrPolice has solved the case and arrested all the accused.
— Shesh Paul Vaid (@spvaid) September 4, 2018
According to reports, police in Boniyar station had received a complaint on 24th August from a local person that his daughter has been missing. The police reportedly launched a search for the girl but she could not be found for several days. on September 2nd, the decomposed and mutilated body of the girl was found in a nearby forest. A SIT was then formed to launch a detailed investigation into the case.
According to reports, after preliminary forensic analysis, it was revealed that the girl had been raped by several persons, her eyes had been gouged out, her body parts were burned with acid and her head had been struck with an axe.
during the police investigation, it was revealed that the girl’s father had two wives, a local woman and a woman from Jharkhand named Khushboo. During the course of interrogation and rounding up of suspects, it was revealed that the girl was the daughter of Khushboo and her father’s first wife Fehmeeda was always jealous of her because she thought the second wife and her child received more love and attention from their husband.
After interrogation by police, Fehmeeda reportedly revealed that she had lured the girl into the forest and according to a premeditated plan, asked her 14-year-old son and two of his friend to join her.
While in the forest, the 14-year-old allegedly raped the girl and even his friends took turns raping her. Later Fehmeeda allegedly strangulated the girl and the 14-year-old hit her head with an axe. One of the other accused allegedly went back to the village and brought back a bottle of acid to burn the girl’s body. Another accused allegedly gouged out the girl’s eyes. According to reports, the injuries and the cause of death have all been corroborated in the forensic analysis. The girl’s body was then covered with twigs and branches and was hidden in the forest.
After an investigation, the weapons used in the crime, including the knife and the axe, the acid bottle and other incriminating pieces of evidence have been recovered by the police. SSP Baramulla Mitiyaz Hussain has reportedly informed that all the accused in the case have been arrested and they will soon be charge-sheeted in court.
The case has sparked massive public outrage and condemnation in the region. It is notable here that after many cases of rape and murder of minors, the central government had promulgated an ordinance making the rape of children below 12 years of age an offence punishable by death sentence. Madhya Pradesh was the first Indian state to pass the law of awarding the death penalty to child rapists. However, juvenile justice laws allow lesser sentences for offenders under 16.
