Jammu, Aug 22: Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary on Saturday condemned the recent death of a minor girl during an alleged attempt to terminate her pregnancy after she was raped by her school teacher, saying the government would not tolerate any form of violence, injustice or cruelty against children.
Calling the incident “unfortunate and disturbing”, Choudhary said police have already taken action in the case.
“Any injustice or cruelty against girls — or children in general — will not be tolerated,” the deputy chief minister said, asserting that none should assume that they can mistreat and violate anyone with impunity.
A 15-year-old girl from a tribal community was allegedly raped repeatedly by a teacher in her school for several months resulting in pregnancy, and death following a botched abortion, in Chatroo area of Kishtwar district on Thursday. Police have arrested the accused teacher, besides the headmaster of the school and his brother.
“There are no words to adequately condemn what happened,” he said, stressing that the government would never tolerate such incidents.
The deputy chief minister also clarified that the police do not come under the administrative control of the elected Jammu and Kashmir government. However, he said this could not be an excuse for allowing injustice to be committed against people, particularly girls.
“If such things continue to increase, the Omar Abdullah government will not tolerate it. We will go to whatever extent necessary to stop such incidents,” he said, adding that the government would take every step to prevent such acts.
Talking to reporters after conducting a surprise inspection at a government hospital in Jammu, the deputy chief minister further said he has taken strong exception to deployment of girl students at reception counters at the hospital and has ordered immediate corrective measures.
Choudhary said he visited the hospital following complaints that the facility was not being properly managed.
“I came here because there had been complaints of mismanagement. I wanted to see the situation myself,” he said, adding that he has observed several issues and directed the hospital superintendent for urgent rectification.
“I was particularly surprised to see that girls who have come here to study have been made to sit at the reception. That is not their job,” he said.
The deputy chief minister directed that students should no longer be assigned reception duties, saying security personnel should instead be deployed for the task.
He said guiding patients and visitors about the availability and location of doctors was responsibility of security staff or personnel specifically assigned for the purpose.
Choudhary said the hospital administration had been instructed to address the issue and ensure that students were not assigned duties unrelated to their purpose at the facility.
On the other hand, protests continued for the third consecutive day in different parts of the Jammu region, including Jammu, Kishtwar and Doda districts, with demonstrators — many among them students — expressing outrage over the rape of the 15-year-old girl and demanding an impartial inquiry to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice.
Protesters called for the strictest possible punishment for the culprits, besides seeking accountability from those found to have been negligent. They also urged authorities to ensure a transparent investigation and effective measures to prevent recurrence of such incidents.
