Thousands of residents of Shopian and adjoining areas staged a sit-in before the office of the Deputy commissioner,Shopian,demanding punishment for the culprits involved in the alleged rape and murder of two local women. Wearing black badges,men,women and children of Shirmal,Zawoora,Mamindar,Alliyalpora,Gagran,Batpora,Shopian and adjoining villages took to the streets and marched in a procession on the directions of Majlis-e-Mushawarat outfit,spearheading the agitation on the issue,to the office of the DC and presented a memorandum urging the authorities to identify the culprits and punish them. The nearly four-hour-long sit-in in Shopian,52 kms from Srinagar,was peaceful. The strike in the district town against the rape and murder of Asiya and Nelofar entered 36th day on Saturday. The bodies of 17-year-old Asiya and her pregnant 22-year-old sister-in-law Nelofar were recovered near a stream on May 30 after they went missing from their orchard a day earlier.
