The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Saturday refuted a news report claiming that the eight-year-old girl who was murdered in January in Kathua district was not raped. The police’s Crime Branch, which is investigating the case, said medical experts had confirmed that the child had been subjected to sexual assault and her hymen was not intact.
“A section of the media spread baseless information that the hymen of the child could have broken due to horse riding or cycling, which is not possible in the case of an eight-year-old girl,” Inspector General (Crime Branch) Afhad-ul-Mujtaba said, according to Greater Kashmir. “Moreover, the medical records have confirmed that the child was sexually assaulted. So we added Section 376D [of the Ranbir Penal Code] to the case.”
Medical opinion established beyond doubt that the girl was held in captivity and was given sedatives, and that her death was caused by asphyxia, PTI reported, quoting a spokesperson for the police.
Hindi daily Dainik Jagran had claimed on Friday that there were two versions of the girl’s autopsy report, and while they suggest her hymen was not intact, they also say no spermatozoa was found in the girl’s vaginal smear. The newspaper quoted a gynaecologist as saying that the hymen can be damaged by strenuous activities, as well.
Hours after publishing it, the newspaper removed the report for a few hours and uploaded it back online again, according to fact-checking website Boom.
The Crime Branch is in the process of submitting a supplementary chargesheet in the case, a spokesperson for the Jammu and Kashmir Police said on Saturday, according to PTI.
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