MUZAFFARABAD: Police have apprehended two cousins accused of separately raping a 10-year-old orphan girl from their kin, officials said on Tuesday.

The crime occurred in Kaneri Langla village of Jhelum Valley district, about 55 km south of the AJK capital, reportedly over two weeks ago. It was “settled” by a local Jirga which imposed a punishment on the suspects, primarily in cash and in default of payment banishment from the village, said Raja Ansar Sajjad, the station house officer (SHO) of Hattian Bala.

“When we came to know about the offence from local sources, we sent a police team to the village to ascertain the facts,” he said, adding the team returned with the victim and her elder sister for their statements.

According to their statements, two sons of their stepbrothers had separately raped the girl at least four times.

According to the SHO, one of the suspects was married and in his mid-20s while the other was 18-year-old.

The medical examination of the girl conducted by a doctor at a Hattian Bala hospital the same evening confirmed the commission of rape following which an FIR was registered under section 10 of Offence of Zina (Enforcement of Hudood) Act 1985.

In the meanwhile, those who were part of the Jirga were also summoned to the police station and asked to produce the suspects or else they would be arrested, he said.

The Jirga members, he said, had imposed a fine of Rs200,000 each on the suspects, failing which they had to expatriate themselves to some other areas.

The SHO assumed that since both were unable to pay the penalty and also feared strong reaction from the public and police, they fled to Mirpur and Rawalakot.

Riyaz Mughal, Superintendent of Police (SP) in Jhelum Valley, told reporters that eventually police arrested both the suspects within 24 hours.

He said one of the suspects had been shifted to Hattian Bala and produced before a magistrate for physical remand on Tuesday while the other suspect would be produced before the magistrate on Wednesday, he said.

Published in Dawn, September 23rd, 2020