Srinagar, May 05 (KMS): In occupied Kashmir, more than three years after molestation of a minor and her mother by an Indian army major in Handwara, the family said the continued harassment of Indian troops had made their life miserable and hell.

The Major of 30-Rashtriya Rifles molested a mother and her daughter on November 6, 2004 at Bader Payeen in Handwara. The incident triggered massive protests in the valley in which the Major was reportedly sacked following a court martial. But the agony of the family didn’t end here.

“All these years, I’ve been facing wrath of Indian troops. The troops raid our house during nights on one pretext or the other and say militants are hiding in the house,” Abdur Rashid Dar, father of the minor victim told media men in Srinagar. “Few months back the soldiers entered my house and ordered us to leave. Then we heard a burst of fire. And when they came out, they thrashed my brother and me without any rhyme. What sin have I committed that I’m being tortured like this?” Dar added.
 
Dar has no idea whether the accused Major was punished or not.  “Army Major ruined my family. “Pro-Indian politicians and puppet authorities have used my suffering for their own interests. Initially everyone sympathized and assured help but they did nothing in practice. My life has simply become a hell,” Dar said.

The Human Rights Commission in its judgment, dated July 3, 2007 stated, “The case is beyond any doubt that an Indian officer had criminally assaulted the mother-daughter duo. The medical report and the investigation conducted by the Special Investigation Team of police have established the occurrence of rape inside the house of the victim during the intervening night of Nov 6 and 7, 2004.”