Kupwara: Some women were used by a “nexus” to create a “fake narrative” of mass rape by the Army personnel in Kunan-Poshpora villages of Kupwara district in Kashmir in 1991, a top Indian Army said here today, confirming what was suspected all along.
Commander of Srinagar-based 15 Corps Lt Gen D P Pandey, during a visit today to Kunan village near the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan, said the women, who claimed to have been raped, had suffered immensely because of the people involved in that “nexus”.
The fake narrative about the ‘mass rape’ had been used by anti-national elements to indulge in huge propaganda to defame the Indian Army.
Lt Gen Pandey told reporters here that about a year back, a delegation from Kunan-Poshpora had met him and narrated how a “nexus” had used some women in the twin-villages to cook up a story of mass rape on February 23, 1991.
It was to create a “fake narrative” against the Army, he said about the claims that several women had been raped by soldiers during a cordon and search operation.
The women said the “nexus” had later dumped them and they were ostracised by the relatives and fellow villagers, according to Gen Pandey.
Hence, the women wanted some help from the Army, like generation of self-employment opportunities and sports development in these villages, he said.
The Corps Commander said he had assured them that he would be visiting the village after those requests were fulfilled and he was keeping that promise by coming here.
The villagers have some other demands which will be looked into, he said.
Gen Pandey said that since Kupwara has been freed from the presence of terrorists, the villagers, especially girls and women, were freely moving around.
Kupwara used to be the first district to be impacted by terrorism as terrorists used to come over from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir through here and undertake arms training, he said.
The villagers here have seen the worst in terms of terrorism and they have understood how they were fooled, he said.
The biggest change in these villages is that parents, who did not allow their daughters to go out, are now voluntarily letting them go out.
“It is the biggest change because. There is security, safety.. The girls can go out and study,” he said.
