Initial medical exam of accused in 3-yr-old girl's rape shows that he is not minor

Srinagar: Preliminary medical examination of a youth accused of raping a three-year-old girl in Jammu and Kashmir's Bandipora district has shown that he is not a juvenile, police said Monday.

"We are treating the accused as a major and not as a juvenile," a senior police official said.

He said the preliminary medical examination of the accused, who has been arrested by the police, suggests that he is an adult.

"The doctors have given an opinion that he is around 20-years-old," the official said.

He said the police have also detained the principal of a school, who issued a birth certificate for the accused showing his date of birth as 23 July 2009.

"The principal is under the custody and is being questioned," the official said.

He said the police are investigating the case and will take it to the logical conclusion.

Meanwhile, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Baseer Ahmad Khan has said the inquiry into the incident is being conducted on a fast-track basis and will be concluded very soon.

Khan said justice will be done in the case and the culprit will be given severe punishment as per law. He appealed to the people to maintain peace, brotherhood and law and order.

Normal life was affected in the city due to a strike called by a religious-cum-separatist organisation against the alleged rape of a three-year-old girl in Bandipora district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Most schools, shops and other business establishments in the city remained shut due to the strike, officials said.

They said public transport was also affected by the strike.

However, government offices and banks remained open, the officials said.

'Itehadul Muslimeen' a religious organisation which is also a constituent of the moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference - Sunday called for a complete shutdown across the Kashmir Valley on Monday against the alleged rape of the girl at Sumbal in north Kashmir's Bandipora district. In a statement, 'Itehadul Muslimeen' president Moulana Masroor Abbas Ansari termed the rape as a blot on the face of humanity.