On July 20, 1992, during an army search operation near the town of Haran, approximately twenty-five kilometers west of Srinagar, at least two women appear to have been raped. J., a resident of Haran, stated that at about 6:30 a.m., five soldiers came into the courtyard and ordered her to give them some water. Two of the soldiers then dragged her into her room and then one of them removed her clothes while the other stood at the door. She stated:
The first soldier slapped me and then pushed me to the ground where I fell on a wooden stake and hurt my back. Both of the soldiers raped me. At some point I fainted, and when I regained consciousness, I discovered that my husband had placed a blanket over me.
A second woman, H., stated that she was at home at about 9:00 a.m. when two Sikh soldiers entered the house. H. was pregnant at the time. Other soldiers remained outside in the compound. She stated:
They told me that I had to go to a shop with them to search it. My father said he would come, but they said, "No, she has to come." I refused. Then one of them asked for some milk, but when I gave it to him, he touched my breasts and pushed me into a corner. One covered my mouth with his hand while the other held a gun. They ordered me to lie down. One of them raped me. Then I fainted.
H. did not go to a doctor until three days later.
F., H.'s mother, stated that she was in bed when the soldiers came. She tried to run away when she saw the soldiers enter H.'s room, but other soldiers caught her and took her back to the room. She was not raped or assaulted.
About this incident, the government of India stated, "At the time of the search operations, conducted by the army, no complaint of rape was made."The statement implies that the women should have complained about the rape to the very soldiers who raped them. The government has stated that a complaint was filed with the deputy commissioner of the district.
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