Jammu and Kashmir High Court today directed the state government to consider paying compensation of Rs two lakh each to the Kunan-Poshpora rape victims as recommended by the State Human Rights Commission.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice M M Kumar and Justice Hasnain Masoodi directed the state government to explore possibility of paying the SHRC-recommended compensation of Rs two lakh to the victims and submit a report within three weeks.
Taking note of the repeated extensions sought by the state respondents, the Court sought a status report on the investigations carried out so far.
The Bench was hearing a petition filed by a support group for the Kunan-Poshpora rape victims seeking constitution of a special investigation team headed by an officer above the rank of Senior Superintendent of Police, and its monitoring by the High Court.
Army soldiers from a battalion of 68th brigade are accused of committing mass-rape in adjacent Kunan and Poshpora villages in Kupwara district of Kashmir on the night of February 23-24 in 1991.
Although a closure report was filed before a court in June last year, the Judicial Magistrate directed the police to carry out further investigations to unravel the identity of the perpetrators of the crime.
