In a video released by the army, the 16-year-old girl is seen accusing the locals of instigating the protests.
Highlights
- The girl stuck to her statement that she was not molested by a soldier
- She said she was assaulted by two boys, one of them was in school uniform
- Her alleged molestation led to clashes in parts of Kashmir, killing 5
The
girl, whose alleged molestation led to a wave of violence and police firing on protestors in Handwara and other parts of north Kashmir, recorded her statement on Saturday evening before a magistrate and said she was not molested.
The girl stood by her earlier statement that she was not molested by any army soldier on Tuesday.
The school girl and her father were presented before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Handwara last evening and her statement was recorded, the Jammu and Kashmir police said in a statement.
"In her statement before the Judicial Magistrate she reveals that on 12-04-2016, after school hours while proceeding to her home along with her friends she entered in a public lavatory near main chowk Handwara for answering the call of nature," the police statement said.
"As soon as she came out of the lavatory, she was confronted, assaulted and dragged by two boys and her bag was snatched among whom one boy was in school uniform," the police said.
The girl and her father recorded their statements on directions to the police issued by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court yesterday on a petition filed by the mother of the girl seeking their release.
The petition was seeking release of the girl, her father and aunt who are in police custody since the day when the allegations of molestation resulted in violent protests in Handwara town.
Three persons, including a 70-year-old woman, were killed when security forces fired at protestors in Handwara town on Tuesday.
A man was killed in Kupwara during protests against the Handwara firing the next day. In fresh violence on Friday, 18-year-old Arif Hussain Dar was killed while three others sustained bullet injuries when army personnel fired at stone-throwing protestors outside a camp in Nathnusa area of Kupwara.
Curfew continued in the town for a fifth consecutive day today while restrictions were lifted in Srinagar. Yesterday, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti had visited Kupwara after which fresh protests broke out.