The medical examination of the 32-year-old woman, who accused army personnel of abducting and raping her sparking protests in the area, has revealed no marks of torture or violence on her body, according to highly placed sources. They said the swabs taken from the woman have been sent for forensic laboratory in Srinagar.
"If any foreign bodies are found in the swabs, the same will be subjected to DNA testing for ascertaining the identity of the bearer." General Officer Commanding of the Army's 15 Corps Lt General S A Hasnain said an internal probe has been launched into the case and strict action will be taken against the guilty but cautioned that the allegations may have been levelled to "defame the force" and disturb the peace. "If there is any truth in the allegation, then it is a criminal act against which strict action must be taken.
Army is cooperating in the police investigation and we have launched a separate investigation of our own," Hasnain told newsmen in Srinagar.
The woman from Gujjarpatti Manzpora in south Kashmir's Kulgam, 80 km from Srinagar, on Thursday lodged a police complaint accusing unidentified army personnel of abducting her on July 19 and gangraping her before being left off on July 21.
The chief minister said an identification parade of soldiers from the army unit stationed there could be held. "Size of army unit in area less than 20 strong so identification parade won't be a problem. Guilty won't be spared either Armed Forces Special Powers Act or no AFSPA," Omar said on micro-blogging website Twitter.
