Handwara clash: PIL filed against video of minor girl

The family of a minor girl, whose video was released by the army to television channels on Wednesday denying molestation by a trooper, on Saturday filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, saying that the release of the video was against the law.

Parvej Indroj, a high court advocate, said that the release of the video is against the law, and claimed that police deliberately forced the girl to give the statement. He said that girl should have given her statement in front of her guardians. According to the reports both the army and the police are involved in this case.

"The high court has ordered to take legal actions against the matter and new statement of the girl should be recorded in front of chief justice of state," said Indroj.

The court has scheduled the next hearing for April 20.

The army, had on Wednesday, circulated a video in which the school girl denied molestation by a trooper and alleged that local boys had harassed and slapped her when she returned from a washroom located close to the army bunker at Kashmir's Handwara town.

On Tuesday, security forces opened fire on protesters, who accused a trooper of molesting the school girl, killing two and injuring 20 others. In subsequent protests two more civilians including a woman were killed in firing.