School Girl Assaulted, Slaughtered In Langate Village

Police suspect criminal assault, hunting three perpetrators

Srinagar- In a ghastly incident, a school girl was criminally assaulted by three unknown assailants in the outskirts of Langate on Friday, and then mercilessly slaughtered in a bid. to avoid identification (of the criminals). The enormity of the crime sent waves of shock through the area and thousands of people took to the streets in violent demonstrations.

The victim had, as usual, left her home in Batpora this morning for the 4 km trek to the Uqaab Public School in Langate where she studied in class 8.

It being Friday, school was over at 1:30 p.m., and she and two of her friends headed home through what the villagers call, the Wudar route.

From what could later be pieced together from her friends account, they were suddenly waylaid by three persons who tried to grab the victim.

The two friends fled from the spot terrified and weeping, and out of fear did not say anything at home about their schoolmate. But when pressed by the family of the missing girl, out poured the story that created alarm in the entire neighbourhood.

Search parties made up of the victim's family and their neighbours immediately set out for the track the girls had taken on their way home, and came across one of her shoes.

With fears of the worst mounting, the villagers found the girl's uniform, and shortly after came upon a body hastily hidden beneath clay and bushels of hay.

A villager, Ghulam Muhammad, said that the searchers were shocked to find that the throat of the victim had been slit, and her uniform, school bag, shoes and other belongings had been dumped some distance away from the "grave."

The Handwara police were informed about the gruesome incident, and top officers of the force tried to take custody of the body. But by then the news had reached the village, and a large numbered men and women came out in grief and headed towards the scene of the crime. The huge procession demanded the immediate arrest of the killers.

The Handwara police said that an autopsy would be carried out to find out the motive behind the killing. The police fears that the victim might have been criminally assaulted before being murdered because the body bore marks of violence, and was without any clothes when discovered.

The police said that a liquor bottle and a tumbler were found near the body.

Villagers from Batpora and adjoining areas held up traffic on the roads by pelting stones on passing vehiclea but dispersed late in the evening, when the additional deputy commissioner Handwara, Basheer Ahmad Wani visited the area and assured people of thorough probe into the crime.