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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Uproar over girl's rape and murder in India

INDIA-CRIME-RAPE-WOMEN-POLITICS
INDIA-CRIME-RAPE-WOMEN-POLITICS
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New Delhi, April, 12:  A brutal gang rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in India-administered Kashmir has triggered widespread uproar, prompting the authorities Thursday to promise action against the perpetrators of the crime.


The girl, identified as Asifa Bano, belonging to a Muslim community of nomadic grazers, was kidnapped from her village in the Kathuadistrict in January and gang-raped for a week before she was murdered, according to the police.


The accused belonged to the state's minority Hindu community and the recent days have seen outrage over inaction in the case which has inflamed religious tensions in the insurgency-torn state.


There is anger after radical Hindu groups allegedly with links to the Bharatiya Janata Party, which rules at the federal level, held rallies to demand the release of six accused men.


"The law will not be obstructed by the irresponsible actions and statements of a group of people," state chief minister Mehbooba Mufti said.


"Proper procedures are being followed, investigations are on the fast track and justice will be delivered," Mufti said on Twitter.


The spiralling outrage over the crime has jolted India with ministers and prominent personalities demanding justice in the case.


"We have failed Asifa as humans. But she will not be denied justice,"junior foreign minister VK Singh said.


Sexual abuse of children is rampant in India and such crimes have shown an increasing trend in recent years. A total of 19,765 cases of child rape were reported in 2015.


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