'Moral decay of society': Court denies bail to man accused of raping 70-yr-old tourist at Pahalgam hotel

A court in Anantnag district made some scathing remarks on the society while denying bail to a youth accused of raping an elderly tourist from Maharashtra in April.

- Ashiq Hussain

SRINAGAR:

Principal sessions judge Anantnag, Tahir Khurshid Raina, while rejecting the bail application of the accused, Zubair Ahmad from Ganeshbal Pahalgam, said that the incident ought to have jolted the 'conscience of this society'.

"The investigation in the case is going on and the perusal of the Case Diary (CD) file prima facie reveals the commission of offence of rape on a senior citizen by the accused in a highly dastardly manner. This is what she has carried from the Pahalgam for the rest of her life where she had come to enjoy the beauty of Kashmir," the order announced on Friday read.

Officials said that the 70-year-old woman from Maharashtra, a widow, who was visiting Kashmir with her family, was allegedly sexually assaulted by the accused.