KL Report
SRINAGAR
A civil society groups, Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) has filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir seeking reinvestigation into the mass rape incident at Kunanposhpora village of Kupwara district in 1991.
Kunanposhpora had witnessed one of the worst incidents of mass rape during the intervening night of February 23 and 24 in 1991 allegedly by the troops of 4-Rajputana Rifles. After the incident under forceful public anger, police had lodged an FIR at Trehgam police station.
The group, comprising students, teachers and other professionals through its counsel, Parvaiz Imroz, had sought directives for initiating criminal proceedings against the then Divisional Commissioner of Kashmir, Wajahat Habibullah, President of Indian Federation of Working Journalists, K Vikram Rao, and a visiting Professor, Boobli George Varghese, for their individual roles in alleged covering up the matter of the mass rape.
The petitioners also sought directions for implementation of the 2011 recommendations of the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) for reinvestigating the case.
On October 19, 2011, a division bench of the commission had asked the authorities to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) for re-opening the case and had also recommended to prosecute the then Director Prosecution who had sought closure of the case on the grounds that the perpetrators were untraced.
