Baramulla: The Jammu and Kashmir Police have arrested three men—prime suspect from Bihar and two local Kashmiri men—in connection with the rape of a 16-year-old girl with cognitive disability, in the Kunzer area of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district.
The case came to light in January this year after the girl was found to be 25 weeks pregnant during a medical examination at SDH Magam.
Kunzer Police Station registered an FIR under relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
According to the police, Jawad Alam, a resident of Champaran in Bihar, was arrested after forensic tests confirmed that his DNA matched the foetus, establishing him as the biological father. Alam’s arrest followed a sustained investigation based on forensic and technical leads.
Two other accused—Mohammad Rafiq Bhat, a resident of Dhobiwan, and Mohammad Nasarullah Khan, a resident of Hayhama Lolab in Kupwara—were also arrested earlier in the case. All three are accused of having raped the minor on multiple occasions.
The investigation, led by then SHO Kunzer, Inspector Sheikh Adil, revealed that the girl had been raped on multiple occasions. Two accused—Rafiq Bhat of Dhobiwan and Nasarullah Khan of Hayhama Lolab, Kupwara—were arrested in the initial phase on charges of rape, aggravated sexual assault, and kidnapping. However, subsequent DNA analysis ruled them out as the biological father.
After further investigation, police identified Jawad Alam, a resident of Champaran, Bihar, as a prime accused.
Forensic results confirmed that Alam’s DNA matched the foetus, linking him to the assault that led to the pregnancy.
