Pulwama Protests Cop's Sexual Attack on Woman, She Beats Him Back

SRINAGAR: Fresh clashes have erupted in Pulwama where a constable from the unit of Jammu and Kashmir Police's counter-insurgency unit, the Special Operations Group, allegedly molested a girl on Monday and attempted to abduct her.

Eyewitnesses said clashes broke out in Murran locality of Pulwama Tuesday morning, despite the traders federation calling off their strike against the molestation of a girl, a boutique owner, by a cop with the Special Operations Group.

The incident took place on Monday afternoon when the girl was stopped by the accused identified as constable Babar Ahmad Dar, who allegedly abused the victim and also tried to molest her.

However, the victim took out her sandal and beat him up in full public glare, witnesses said.

"Seeing this, the accused's colleagues came to his rescue and tried to bundle the victim into their jeep. However, local shopkeepers and pedestrians intervened and saved the girl," a shopkeeper in Muran, wishing anonymity, told The Citizen.

In her complaint to the police, the victim alleged that Babar often came to her shop where he harassed her. Sources said the accused is having a love affair with a girl in the locality but the relations between the two had gone sour and the accused was trying to use the victim to convince the girl to pair up again.

As the news of the molestation spread in the locality on Monday afternoon, angry residents came out on the streets and staged protests, which turned violent during which at least six civilians and two cops suffered injuries.

Sources said a patrol party of Indian Army's 55 RR that was passing through the area at the time of protests fired aerial shots to disperse the angry protesters. The panic-stricken traders and pedestrians downed their shutters and rushed to safer places with all the business establishments shut soon after the incident.

However, fresh clashes broke out in the locality on Tuesday morning during which at least one civilian was injured. Additional reinforcements have been sent to the area but the clashes were going on till last reports came in.

“A case (FIR 261/2015) under section 294 RPC has been registered against the accused cop and further investigations are going on”, superintendent of police (Pulwama), Tejinder Singh, said. He said the situation in the town is returning to normalcy, "More than 20 percent shops have opened and vendors have returned to the area," he said.