Srinagar, Sep 30: After being assailed by the opposition PDP and the civil society groups, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Friday apologized to the rape victims for revealing their identity in the state Assembly.
 "There is a deep sense of shame over revealing the names of the victims. I tender an unconditional apology,” Omar told the House, soon after PDP president, Mehbooba Mufti, raised the issue as soon as the Assembly convened here this morning. She accused the government of demonstrating “insensitivity and callousness” while revealing the names of the rape victims and stigmatizing the hapless women and their families.
 Mehbooba had slammed the government on Thursday on the issue, saying the disclosure of the identity of the victims including their names, fathers name and place of residence was in clear violation of the Supreme Court ruling and section 228 (A) of the IPC. “Their (victims’) lives have been destroyed. Government has made hell out of their lives,” said Mehbooba who was supported by the CPI-M legislator MY Tarigami on the issue.
 While assuring the House that such incident will not be repeated, Omar said the information should not have been disclosed.
 “I do not know on what basis and why the information was disclosed. Under what circumstances these details have been revealed, I will look into it and will come back to the House," Omar said.
 Pointing towards Mehbooba, Omar said: “You have also run the government and you know there is distribution of work. I will try to find out why the identity of the victims was disclosed.”
 On September 27, Jammu and Kashmir government had made public the names of hundreds of rape victims in the legislative Assembly. The information was given by the Home department, headed by the Chief Minister. At least 1,326 rapes cases had been registered in the state since 2006. Most of these cases are either sub-judice or under investigation, it said.
 “The House is the guardian of the dignity of people. But the identity of the rape victims with the minutest details was disclosed in the state Assembly so brazenly. It not only goes against moral and ethical values but is also clear violation of the Supreme Court guidelines,” Mehbooba had told a press conference here on Thursday. “It has serious social repercussions for the victims and their families.”
 The PDP president had held National Conference responsible for the incident.
 The CPI-M had also criticized the state government for disclosing the identity of rape victims. He had also asked government to apologise to the rape victims and their families.

Lastupdate on : Fri, 30 Sep 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 30 Sep 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 1 Oct 2011 00:00:00 IST