Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir): Two persons involved in kidnapping and sexually assaulting minor girls in Srinagar were arrested by the Jammu and Kashmir police on Friday. The two accused have been identified as Hilal Rather (24), the son of Ghulam Mohammad Rather, a resident of Hygam in Sopore, and Shabir Mir (30), the son of Ghulam Mohammad Mir, a resident of Kreeri area in Baramulla district, the Srinagar police said in a tweet.
The police further said both the minor girls aged between 12 and 13 respectively were rescued and an FIR (number 41/2023) under Section 363, 376 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and (3) (penetrative sexual assault) and 4 (punishment for penetrative sexual assault) under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) was registered against the accused at Srinagar's Lal bazaar Police Station.
Whereas in a separate incident on Thursday, Mohammad Iqbal Sheikh (46), the son of Ghulam Qadir Sheikh, a resident of Kanthpora in Sogam Kupwara, presently staying at Pamposh Colony, Srinagar, was arrested for raping a 15-year-old girl. The police said the accused was the relative of the girl.
An FIR no 92/2023 under Sections 352 (punishment for assault or criminal force otherwise than on grave provocation), 376 (punishment for rape), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 3 and 4 of the POCSO Act were registered at Safa Kadal Police Station. Meanwhile, Kashmir has been witnessing a steep rise in crimes recently. According to the official data, around 20 cases of crimes against children were reported in Kashmir so far in 2023.
Also read: Militant cases on the wane in J&K this year; social crimes on the rise
