Srinagar:
Justice Wali of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Thursday directed SP Bandipora to file a status report in the case of rape and murder of a girl in Preng area of Bandipora by “Ikhwani” Rashid Pahloo and his aide Bashir Ahmad Rather in 1993, a statement of JKCCS said this afternoon.
J&K High Court Srinagar.
“The 22 year old victim was abducted and raped for months by Rashid Pahloo and Bashir Ahmad Rather in 1993. Because of the rape, the victim had become pregnant and developed medical complications leading to her death in the same year. Mysteriously, the FIR number 139/1995 was filed two years after the incident in police station Sumbal under section 376 and 302 RPC for torture, rape and murder. No investigations were conducted in the case and statements of the witnesses were not recorded. The brother of the victim, who was a minor then, finally filed a petition in the High Court in 2015 demanding the constitution of a special investigation team for credible investigations in the case. In 1999, Rashid Pahloo killed the victim’s brother, Bilal Ahmad in an apparent attempt to clear away witnesses from his crime,” the statement said.
The statement added that the family was unable to pursue the case after the killing of the victim’s brother Bilal Ahmad, fearing reprisal from the Ikhwanis who have been always “supported and sponsored” by the armed forces in the area. “The accused Rashid Pahloo is also actively engaged with the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).”
