Kathua rape case lawyer arrested for attempt to rape
Hussain arrested from Pulwama district
Srinagar: Talib Hussain, a Jammu- based activist and lawyer who shot into prominence after he appeared in a case on behalf of the eight- year- old Kathua gangrape and murder victim’s family, has been arrested over attempt to rape charges. The police said that Hussain was taken into custody after a woman, who is related to him, lodged a complaint that he attempted rape her in J& K’s Samba district in June this year.
Talib Hussain, a Jammu-based social activist and lawyer who shot into prominence after he appeared in a case on behalf of eight- year- old nomad Kathua gangrape and murder victim’s family, has been arrested by the police over attempt to rape charges.
The police said that Mr Hussain was taken into custody from Tral area in Kashmir Valley’s southern Pulwama district after the woman, who is related to him, lodged a complaint with it that he attempted rape on her in woods of Jammu and Kashmir’s Samba district in June this year.
“We have booked him under Section 376 of Ranbir Penal Code ( attempt to rape) and Section 4/ 15A of the Arms Act after registering an FIR ( Number 221/ 2018),” said station house officer ( SHO) of Samba police station, Chanchal Singh. He confirmed that Mr Hussain was arrested from Tral on Wednesday and taken to Samba on Thursday for further investigation in the case.
As per the complaint lodged with Samba police, a resident of Samba’s Chairawa Mansar village has alleged that Mr Hussain tried to wreck her chastity in nearby woods where she had gone for grazing cattle one and a half months ago.
She has claimed that she met Mr Hussain in Chadwa jungle, where he, with a sharp edged weapon ( Tokka) in hand, pushed her on ground, touched her private parts and then tried to rape her but she managed to flee the spot. She further said that the accused threatened her of dire consequences if she revealed anything about the incident to the police or anyone else. “He told me that he will kill me if I revealed anything about the incident to anyone,” she has said in her complaint.
It was only after she narrated the alleged incident to her husband on July 31 the couple lodged a complaint with the police and sought action against the accused, the police said.
Mr Hussain, a resident of Majalta village of J& K’s Udhampur district, shot into prominence after being at the forefront of a campaign to seek justice for the eight- year- old gangrape victim from Kathua’s Rasana village. He has told a lawyer friend that he has been framed for his role in the Kathua incident.
The police said that it is investigating the incident. “We’ve asked for thorough investigation into the complaint and assigned the same to ASI Kulwant Singh who is the incharge of police post Mansar,” said a senior police official.
In June this year, Hussain’s wife had lodged complaint with the police against him for allegedly torturing her and demanding dowry. Mr Hussain had said that it was “aimed at maligning him for his raising voice to seek justice for the Kathua gangrape victim”.