Baramulla: Mehbooba Mufti demands exemplary punishment

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday termed the rape and murder of a nine-year-old girl in Baramulla district as shocking and demanded exemplary punishment for the culprits, including the minor's step-mother and step-brother.

Mufti visited the victim's family in Boniyar area of north Kashmir's Baramulla district and expressed deep sorrow over the brutal incident that devastated the family and shocked the entire state, a PDP spokesperson said.

The PDP president demanded exemplary punishment for the culprits involved in the gory act, he added.

Terming the incident as shameful and outrageous, Mufti said such a gruesome incident has put a question mark on the state's collective societal values.

She added that it is high time people introspect and come together to demand a stern punishment for those who have committed such a devilish act.

The former chief minister also lauded the Jammu and Kashmir police for acting swiftly in the case.

The minor went missing on August 23 and her decomposed body was found on September 3 from a forest near her house.

Police investigation revealed that a plan to kill the girl was hatched by her step-mother and she was raped by her step-brother and three others. The girl was later strangled, hit on the head with an axe, her eyes gouged out and acid sprinkled on her body parts.

All the five accused have been arrested.