Jammu and Kashmir nomads in Ludhiana ‘very happy’ with conviction of six accused

LUDHIANA: The nomadic community from Jammu and Kashmir in Punjab’s Ludhiana district is happy the judgment has helped get justice for the eight-year-old Bakerwal girl.
“We are very happy that little angel got justice after her death. The culprits had shown height of brutality and inhumanness by subjecting her to such torture and then killing her. The worst was that when some people tried to colour it in religious and regional hues.As a community, we always believed that such culprits should be handed severest punishment irrespective of the religion and region they belong to,” said Muhammad Hassan, a nomad now settled in Khokhran village near Machhiwara, who has his roots in Jammu and Kashmir.
The community members said the punishment will ensure that their daughters can move around without fear.
“We salute the court for handing such punishment to the culprits in Kathua rape and murder case as anyone thinking of carrying out such crime against minor girls will think many times before trying to carry out such crimes. It should be done in every case where the minor girls are victims so that a time comes when every daughter is safe and can walk freely,” said Rehman Ali, a nomad from neighbouring Hediyan village.
The nomadic community also thanked the nation for standing for justice. “We thank each and every countryman for standing for justice to our daughter. It is victory of truth and justice and verdict against inhumanity,” said a teenage girl from community at Khokran village.
Nomads belonging to Gujjar and Bakerwal community from Jammu and Kashmir have for decades settled down in Khokran, Hediyan, Badesha, Dakha areas of Ludhiana district and at Chamkaur Sahib in Ropar as well.
Ludhiana resident Gauravdeep Singh, a youth empowerment activist who had organized campaigns against the Kathua and Unnao rape cases, said whenever the young people come on the streets they have got justice — be it Nirbhaya or Asifa case. “The government needs to take some concrete steps to ensure that such crimes don’t happen and there is no need for youth to come on streets to seek justice. Secondly the people are celebrating the punishment and although it is a victory, we shouldn’t be celebrating it and remember the girl who lost her life and it is still a long way to go before we can completely achieve women safety in our country,” Singh added.
The lawyers too welcomed the verdict. “It is one of the unique cases on which Supreme Court had kept a vigil. We were expecting the capital punishment to the accused in the case, but we welcome the verdict of court. We also appreciate the efforts of J&K’s crime branch who completed the investigation without delay and in a scientific manner,” said Amit Tandon, a senior lawyer.