Rape protests shake Kashmir

THOUSANDS of people hurling rocks and shouting anti-India slogans protested in remote villages in Indian-controlled Kashmir yesterday after a woman told police she was abducted and raped by soldiers stationed in the disputed Himalayan region.

The protests broke a delicate peace that settled this summer in Kashmir with concerns of a return to deadly street violence that consumed the region.

Protesters demanded the arrest of the two soldiers accused of repeatedly raping the married 25-year-old woman over two days. While the Indian police and army promised a special investigation, the Indian army chief in Kashmir, Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain, suggested armed Kashmiri rebels may have staged the attack to incite public anger.