‘Moral decay of society': Court denies bail to man accused of raping 70-yr-old tourist at Pahalgam hotel

Hindustan Times

2 days ago

A court in Anantnag district made some scathing remarks on the society while denying bail to a youth accused of raping an elderly tourist from Maharashtra in April. The accused sought bail, inter alia, alleging the police harbored some personal grudge against him and his father, on account of which he has been falsely implicated in the case. (File)
Principal sessions judge Anantnag, Tahir Khurshid Raina, while rejecting the bail application of the accused, Zubair Ahmad from Ganeshbal Pahalgam, said that the incident ought to have jolted the 'conscience of this society'.
'The investigation in the case is going on and the perusal of the Case Diary (CD) file prima facie reveals the commission of offence of rape on a senior citizen by the accused in a highly dastardly manner. This is what she has carried from the Pahalgam for the rest of her life where she had come to enjoy the beauty of Kashmir,' the order announced on Friday read.
Officials said that the 70-year-old woman from Maharashtra, a widow, who was visiting Kashmir with her family, was allegedly sexually assaulted by the accused.
According to the police investigation, the accused unlawfully entered the septuagenarian woman's hotel room when she was alone, gagged her mouth with a blanket, raped her, inflicted injuries and fled through the window.
The assault was so brutal that the victim was unable to sit and move and remained in pain for several days.
The accused sought bail, inter alia, alleging the police harbored some personal grudge against him and his father, on account of which he has been falsely implicated in the case.
'The appreciation of the material on record which includes the complaint, the statements of the witnesses viz-a-viz of the prosecutrix (who happened to be the star witness in the case), the medical opinion, FSL Report, TIP, etc collectively and prima facie negates the grounds of bail advanced by the accused,' the order said.
'The alleged incident is highly unfortunate, condemnable by all possible words, and ought to have jolted the conscience of this society- which claims its moorings to be based on rich ethical values and culture- but now stands shaken to the hilt,' the judge made the remarks.
'It is not an isolated act to be ignored, but a reflection of a highest degree of depravity and sick mentality prevailing in the society-which must bow its head down in shame and invites a serious introspection as to what it stood for, and how that has now collapsed,' it said.
This court, which every day witnesses the reflection of the probity level of this society, expressed its concern that it is hopelessly getting eroded on various fronts.
'No sooner the sheet-anchors, conscious keepers, watch dogs, and philanthropists of this society will rise to the occasion to check what is going wrong on the moral front of the society, the better will be for saving the Kashmir as the paradise on earth in its true sense,' the court said.
'Mere meadows, mountains, lush green fields, forests, springs, rivers, rivulets and gardens will not come to the rescue of Kashmir as a desired tourist destination,' the order stated.