Uttarkashi: Residents of Uttarkashi district, in a show of strong protest, came out on the streets and shut shops and establishments following the brutal gang-rape and murder of a 12-year-old girl. The girl, a resident of Bhakda village of Dunda block was kidnapped from her home on Friday night by a few labourers who were alleged to have come from outside the state and were working in a construction project nearby. Her body was found on Saturday morning near her village. According to sources, the mother of the victim is mentally challenged while her father is physically challenged. The couple does odd jobs in the village in order to survive.The brutal manner in which the girl was violated and later murdered seemed to have struck a nerve as people spilled out on the streets in district headquarters Uttarkashi as well as other areas like Purola and Dunda blocks in order to protest against the crime. Seeing the voltality of the situation, internet services were shut down across Uttarkashi and Tehri districts on Saturday by the administration fearing spread of misinformation and rumours.Police officials of the district said that they had arrested five suspects although they refused to confirm whether they were the ones who had commited the crime. “The matter is under investigation. A case has been registered under sections 302 (punishment for murder), 376 (rape) and 363 (kidnapping) as well as section 3/4 of the POCSO Act,” said Sukhbeer Singh, SP, Uttarkashi.Several protesters surrounded the district hospital in Uttarkashi in the afternoon demanding that the accused should be brought before the public. By late evening, the girl’s body had been taken for post-mortem although people from her village refused to recieve the body till the perpetrators were brought to justice. Speaking to TOI, Vishnu Pal Rawat, a local resident, said, “People from outside are coming to our area and commiting such heinous crimes. There are neither any checks being done by the police nor any records kept of outsiders. We demand adequate compensation for the family members of the girl and a strict check on all outsiders.”Gangotri MLA Gopal Rawat who met the protesters said that he has asked the district administration and police to ensure “the strictest action against those who have committed the crime.”Meanwhile, former Congress MLA Vijay Pal Sangwan termed the incident as “a failure of the state government and local administration.” “The government makes tall claims of saving the girl child and fails to take stern action to prevent such heinous crimes. We will organise statewide protests on the issue shortly.”

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