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JK
sex scandal hits beauty
palours, rocks lawyers
Srinagar:
The sex racket allegedly involving politicians, bureaucrats
and paramilitary officers has hit the beauty business in the
Kashmir Valley and created angst in the legal fraternity of
the state. The beauty business has only just taken an upswing
in profit after 17 years of isolation created by the fear
of the gun. Last week's unearthing of the sex scandal has
hit beauticians pretty hard, particualrly those women who
are the sole breadwinners of their families. "The business
is good and when this good work is closed, then around 90
percent of the people involved in the trade are affected.
The beauty parlour profession is not wrong. So, why should
it be closed? Sabina, who was caught, was not running a beauty
parlour, " exclaims Faisal, a businessman. "I work here ,
and my house hold depends on this profession . This type of
activity never happens over here, and if it was happening
then would my husband have left me over here. It might take
place in the Gents parlour in which a girl works, but it cannot
take place in Ladies parlour. " said Ruksana, a beauty parlour
employee. "The business has come down drastically. We are
poor girls, and where will we go? This is our sole- occupation
of employment and we have been working here for the past 12
years and nothing has happened to us. I have five sisters,
my father is already dead.and I have to support them," said
Mymoona and Shakeela, two other beauty parlour employees.
A girl, preferring anonymity, said that,"if the beauty parlours
are closed, how will we survive, and such acts can push jobless
girls into the flesh trade".
The take of the lawyers on the sordid scam was more vocal
and aggressive. They took the the streets, saying all those
involved should be punitively dealt with if their collusion
was proved. Mian Abdul Qayoom, the President of the Srinagar
Bar Association, demanded that the high court should take
strict action against those involved and punish the guilty.
"This case is really serious and the high court is not taking
stringent steps as it should have done.We demanded that the
high court transfer the case to a division bench so that the
guilty can be punished," Qayoom said. The state government
has asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe
the scandal. An angry mob had earlier ransacked the house
of a woman suspected of being involved in the sex scandal
before razing it to the ground and setting fire to her belongings.
'Court should be sole arbiter
of sex scam'
Srinagar:
Kashmir's Dukhtaran-e-Millat chief Asiya Andrabi on Wednesday
riduculed the state government's order for a CID inquiry into
last week's sex scam, and demanded a judicial probe. Andrabi,
whose demand was also backed by womens' wing of the opposition
National Conference, said that the names of sex scam suspects
should be revealed immediately. Congregating at Srinagar's
prominent Lal Chowk, the protesting women said women in the
Kashmir Valley would be much safer if the names of the accused
were revealed. "We request the CM that names of the culprits
should be disclosed as soon as possible, as women here are
living in terror. You don't know that girls are not going
to schools and colleges. All parents want their children to
be secure but when police is involved, who will be secure?
If government does not bring the culprits in front of public
soon, they will surely go for indefinite hunger strike," said
Shamima Firdous, the president of the National Conference
Womens' wing. "We want that the case be handled properly and
we should get the opportunity to go directly to the court.
There is no need to involve the police," said Andrabi She
also said that the list of girls allegedly involved in the
case should not be given hype as this would spoil their lives.
J & K court to hear sex
racket case
Srinagar:
The Jammu and Kashmir High Court will today hear a case
related to the alleged sex racket that rocked the Valley.
After taking into cognizance the media reports on sex scandal,
Justice B A Kirmani fixed May 10 as the date for hearing,
court sources said. The petition, filed by the Kashmir Bar
Association (KBA) stated that the delay in investigation to
expose those involved in the racket had caused a wave of anger
and concern among the people. Since some politicians and police
officers are allegedly involved in the scandal, an investigation
is not being carried out in a desirable manner. Activists
of the radical women's organization, Dukhtaran-e-Millat (Daughters
of Faith) on May 8 had staged a protest at Srinagar's Lal
Chowk and Budshah Chowk against the alleged sex racket. The
burqa-clad activists of the DeM held banners and protested
against those involved in sex racket, and demanded that Sabeena,
the alleged mastermind be handed over to them so that she
could be punished as per the Islamic laws. Chief Minister
Ghulam Nabi Azad had already transferred the case to the Central
Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and asked to probe into the
matter. Earlier, hundreds of people had stormed and set fire
to the house of Sabeena. She was earlier arrested by the Police
on October 15, 2004 along with four girls and two customers
at Chinkral Mohalla in Srinagar, but released within ten days.
On April 28, the State Police arrested two persons after finding
CDs in which a 15-year old girl had been forcibly filmed nude.
The girl and another minor claimed at least 43 young girls
were blackmailed and forced into prostitution. They named
two former ministers, some senior police officers, bureaucrats
and businessmen are being circulated as being involved in
the scandal.