NC condemns killing of woman in Budgam

Srinagar, Mar 13 (PTI) The National Conference (NC) on Monday condemned the brutal killing of a young woman in Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam district, saying the incident has brought shame to humanity.

The woman was killed and her body chopped into several pieces in the Soibugh area of the central Kashmir district. Police have arrested a man who has confessed to the crime and identified the locations where he had hidden the victim’s body parts.

Expressing outrage over the “rising spate of incidents against women” in Kashmir, senior NC leader and a former MLA from Budgam, Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, said the gut-wrenching incident is a horrible reminder of how distinctly rotten the society has become.

“Words are not enough to condemn this brazen murder of humanity. If these cases do not shake the conscience of humanity, nothing will. I express my deepest condolences and sympathies with the bereaved household, and pray for fortitude to them at this difficult time,” he said.

Demanding exemplary punishment for the perpetrator of the crime, Mehdi said the “lack of accountability of the law-and-order institutions and lack of conviction of the culprits” lead to an increase in the number of such incidents of crime against women.

Police should prepare a watertight case against the assailant so that he gets stringent punishment, he added.

Demanding a speedy trial in the case, the NC leader said the society should also introspect about the recurrence of such shameful incidents.

“Recurrence of such incidents should be a point of concern for all of us. Such incidents were unknown in this part of the world.

“Now, we get to hear about such incidents on an almost daily basis. It is high time that we, as a society, converge our efforts to educate our youth. Police and the judiciary will do what they have to, but we as sensible citizens should unite our efforts and guide our new generation and speak about such injustices at every level,” he said.

Meanwhile, NC’s central zone president Ali Muhammad Dar led a party delegation to meet the victim’s family members.

The delegation also offered “Fatiha” (special prayers) for the victim woman.

Women functionaries of the NC have also expressed outrage over the killing and demanded stern punishment for the perpetrator of the heinous crime.