President in J&K, condemns Kathua rape

President Ram Nath Kovind arrived here on Wednesday and strongly condemned the gang rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir.

"Such an incident happening in our country after 70 years of independence is shameful. We have to decide what kind of a society we are developing into," the President said at the sixth convocation of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University at Katra town.

"It is our duty to ensure that such a thing does not happen in future to any of our daughters or sisters."

The President, who is on a two-day visit to the state, said the success of a society lay in the kind of protection it provides to its children.

He said the greatest achievement of any human being is tolerance and respect for others.

Asking students to draw inspiration from his predecessor A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who inaugurated the university, Kovind asked them to learn from the life and struggles faced by the former President.

"Respect and tolerance of fellow human beings makes one a good human being. If one becomes a doctor or an engineer tomorrow, he will be a better doctor or engineer only if he is a good human being," the President added.

Kovind said Kalam did not just prove to be a great scientist, but he was a great human being who always supported the right to education for children.

Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, also speaking on the occasion, lamented that something was wrong with a society where men indulge in the rape and murder of a child who is a manifestation of the Mother Goddess.

"How can someone do such a cruel thing to a small girl who is a manifestation of Mata Vaishno Devi, there is something wrong with the society," she said.

Kovind arrived here earlier amid tight security. He was received by Governor N.N. Vohra and Mehbooba.

All eight men accused in the brutal rape and murder of the girl from the nomadic Bakerwal community in January have been arrested. The case will be heard on April 28 in the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Kathua.

--IANS

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