SAHIL ABASS. New Delhi, Mar 16: Noted Journalist and former Press Council Chairman BG Verghese on Sunday said that that nothing happened in Kunan – Poshpora, twin hamlets of north Kashmir’s Kupwara district, where locals and officials had alleged that the Indian Army gang-raped more than fifty women on the fateful night of February 23/24, 1991. In an exclusive interaction with The Citizen, Verghese termed the allegations as “baseless, a hoax and propagandized” and said that all the women were lying when they said they had been raped by the soldiers. “There is no evidence of rape over there; these are cooked up stories which we have already stated in our report “Crisis and Credibility”. These women are cooking up the stories because of some external pressure, which may be from militants, separatists and other groups”” said Verghese, who led the then PCI team to investigate the alleged mass rape in Kunan - Poshpora. Terming the incident as a a “massive hoax” and an act to keep the Army at bay, Verghese said that he stood by his report, which gave the Indian Army 4 Rajputana Rifles a clean chit. “The so called victims have been lying all these years, they cooked up their stories and told different version to us, media and other agencies” he said adding that they fear the militants ,and so they blame army. Raising questions on the credibility of the victims, Verghese said that with each passing day, everyone joined the chorus and acted as a victim. “First it was 23 women alleged of being raped, then it went to 53, 80, 100 and later every woman claimed to be raped, how is it possible, they just cooked it up”, he said. He added. “There is no evidence to prove mass rape”. Twenty four years after the incident, the alleged Kunan-Poshpora mass rape incident took a new turn when the then Deputy Commissioner S M Yasin broke his silence for the first time and alleged that he had been threatened by Verghese. “He (Verghese) asked me to change my report in the interest of national security, when I refused he threatened me and my family,” SM Yasin, said at a civil society organized event on the 24th anniversary of Kunan-Poshpora incident in Srinagar. Reacting sharply to the allegations Verghese termed these as baseless, “Nonsense” he said and accused SM Yasin of revealing false information on the behest of anti-Indian forces. “Where was Yasin all these years? Why was he silent?, Let him come clear on who told him to speak like that, I know who made him reveal all these concocted tales, ” the senior journalist said. He further added, “If someone or I tried to pressurize or threaten Yasin, why didn’t he file a case against us for attempting to subvert justice through coercive and corrupt means?” Verghese said that “everyone knows the truth but they do not dare reveal it” referring to those raising the issue in Jammu and Kashmir. “Let me quote you an example, I met Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and asked him, do you know who killed your father? Omar said yes, but he doesn’t want to reveal the name, fearing for his life, ” Verghese said adding that If “people like the Mirwaiz don’t dare to tell truth under pressure, how can a common woman in Kashmir dare?” Verghese said that the Press Council of India did a wonderful job in exposing the realities of Kushan Poshpora. He asserted that all the other agencies who investigated the mass rape incident did not do a fair job. “Everyone failed there, Government, army and civil administration didn’t put up a fair job, there is need for a thorough probe to clear the air,” he said. Earlier in June last year, Union Minister Salman Khurshid had issued an apology for the mass rape. “What can I say? I can only say that I am ashamed that it happened in my country. I am apologetic and appalled that it has happened in my country,” Khurshid said. “I won’t pinpoint who and which agency is behind the incident but whatever has happened is very painful,” the Minister had said.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 05:11:15 +0000
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