scorecardresearch
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Support Our Journalism
HomeIndiaGovernanceBSF former top cop, 4 others held guilty in 2006 Kashmir sex...

BSF former top cop, 4 others held guilty in 2006 Kashmir sex scandal

Follow Us :
Text Size:

The case involved the sexual exploitation of two minors in Srinagar by a group of politicians, bureaucrats and police officials.

New Delhi: Five people, including a former Border Security Force (BSF) deputy inspector general, were held guilty of rape Wednesday by a special Chandigarh court in the infamous 2006 Jammu and Kashmir sex scandal case.

The guilty included former deputy superintendent of police Mohammed Ashraf Mir, who was the first to be arrested, former DIG, BSF, K.C. Padhi and three others — Maqsood Ahmad, Shabir Ahmad Langoo and Shabir Ahmad Laway.

The two other accused — businessman Mehrajuddin Malik and former J&K general advocate Anil Sethi — have been acquitted. The court will pronounce the quantum of punishment on 4 June.

Padhi had initially avoided identification parades before a teenage victim of the racket but later appeared before the registrar of the high court. He had pleaded innocent saying he used the girl for “operational purposes”.

The scandal came to light in 2006 after residents of Srinagar’s Habba Kadal locality approached police with two video CDs showing sexual exploitation of two Kashmiri minors. Names of the most high-profile people, including politicians and ministers, came up.

The minors were sexually exploited by people from a power setup of politicians, bureaucrats and police officials. Investigations led the police to 56 names allegedly involved in the racket. Police identified a woman named Sabeena, who allegedly ran a brothel in Habba Kadal, as the prime accused in the case.

While Sabeena and her husband died during the trial, the other five persons were held guilty.

The scandal caused a huge uproar across the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley and shook the power corridors. Then chief minister, Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, handed the case over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), following which the case unfolded.

The CBI had arrested Raman Mattoo, former minister of state for industries and commerce and an independent legislator from Habba Kadal in Srinagar, and Ghulam Ahmed Mir, a former minister of state for roads and buildings and a Congress legislator from Dooru in Anantnag district. Both were booked under Section 5 of the Immoral Trafficking and Prevention Act for allegedly procuring persons for prostitution. Both were acquitted in 2012.

Subscribe to our channels on YouTube, Telegram & WhatsApp

Support Our Journalism

India needs fair, non-hyphenated and questioning journalism, packed with on-ground reporting. ThePrint – with exceptional reporters, columnists and editors – is doing just that.

Sustaining this needs support from wonderful readers like you.

Whether you live in India or overseas, you can take a paid subscription by clicking here.

Support Our Journalism

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Most Popular