Srinagar, May 13 (KNS): Hurriyat Conference (M) while terming the rape of a three-year-old girl of Tregam area of Sumbal in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district as barbaric and gruesome expressed deep shock and pain and demanded an exemplary punishment to the culprit involved in the act that has left the conscience of every Kashmiri shaken.

In a statement issued to KNS, Hurriyat Conference (M) said that last year also a brutal rape and murder of a minor nomadic girl was witnessed in Kishtwar and now the one at north Kashmir’s Bandipora district which reflects the deep rot in our society and the level of waywardness and moral degradation that has gripped the Valley. Hurriyat demanded that the investigations be conducted on a fast track basis so that the culprit is brought to book without any further delay and punished sternly so that no such act is repeated in future.

Hurriyat (M) made a fervent appeal to all to maintain sectarian harmony and urged common masses to show a united face in this hour of crisis.

Expressing solidarity with the family of the victim Hurriyat Conference (M) said that all of Kashmir stands in unison in demanding sternest possible punishment to the culprit.

Meanwhile, a Hurriyat (M) spokesman paid glowing tributes to two armed youth martyred in a gunfight with government forces at Sitapur area of Shopian district—Javaid Ahmed Bhat and Adil Bashir Wani and stated that the ultimate repression unleashed by the government forces was pushing the Kashmir’s young lot towards armed means of resistance as all the peaceful means protests stand choked.

He said that even in the fasting month of Ramadhan, there is no let up in the bloodshed of Kashmir youth as New Delhi continues to display its military might to muzzle genuine dissent in the Valley but the fact remains that Kashmir was a political issue that needs to be resolved as per the will of its people and not by brute force. (KNS)