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Rape and murder of Girija Tickoo

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1990 murder in Jammu and Kashmir, India

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Rape and murder of Girija Tickoo
Girija Tickoo in her younger days
Location34°31′29″N 74°15′35″E / 34.5246°N 74.2596°E / 34.5246; 74.2596
Kupwara, Jammu and Kashmir, India
Date19 June 1990 (1990-06-19)–25 June 1990 (1990-06-25)
TargetGirija Tickoo
Attack type
Abduction, sexual assault (rape), torture and murder
VictimGirija Tickoo
Perpetratorsmilitants of the Kashmir insurgency
MotiveTargeted militant violence against Kashmiri Hindus

In June 1990, Girija Tickoo,[a] a 28-year-old Kashmiri Hindu woman was gang raped and murdered by Muslim militants during the insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir. Originally from Bandipora, Tickoo worked at a government school in Kupwara, from where was abducted on 19 June, gang raped and then sawed alive by her captors. Her dismembered body was found on 25 June. She had earlier fled the Kashmir Valley during the forced displacement of Kashmiri Hindus due to threats and violence of the insurgency. She had returned to collect a paycheque when she was abducted.

Background

Girija Tickoo was born on 15 February 1969, was married to Kanya Lal Tiku and had a son age 5 and daughter age 2, and lived at Arigam (Aragam) in Bandipora district (then Baramulla district).[1] She worked at a Government High School in Trehgam, Kupwara, and belonged to Bandipora.[2][3] Tickoo belonged to the Kashmiri Hindu community,[4] and had migrated to Jammu along with her family sometime in early 1990 during the forced displacement of Kashmiri Hindus from the insurgency-hit Kashmir Valley due to threats and targeted violence by militants.[5] In June, she had returned to collect a paycheque, and was staying with a former colleague.

Abduction, rape and murder

Tickoo returned to her colleague's house after collecting her paycheque, following which she was abducted by a group of militants. She was gang raped and tortured by the militants. She is said to have recognised the voice of one of her rapists.[6] She was later taken to a wood processing unit (sawmill) where she was cut into two using a mechanical saw by the militants.[6]

Public attention

The case was raised during hearings held by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom in September 2000. Vijay K. Sazawal, representing the Indo-American Kashmir Forum, included Tickoo's killing in testimony concerning violence against Kashmiri Hindus.[7][8] The case received renewed public attention through testimony before human-rights bodies in the United States. In 2019, columnist Sunanda Vashisht while testifying at a hearing entitled “Jammu and Kashmir in Context” to the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the United States House of Representatives submitted a testimony that Tickoo "was abducted, blind folded, gang raped and when she identified the perpetrators by their voice, because they belonged to the same neighborhood as she had lived all her life in, she was cut into two halves on a mechanical saw."[9] During a debate in the Lok Sabha in August 2023, Union minister Smriti Irani referred to the deaths of Tickoo and Sarla Bhat while responding to opposition leader Rahul Gandhi.[10]

Cultural depictions

The incident was recounted in the memoir Our Moon Has Blood Clots (2013) by Rahul Pandita.[6] The incident was incorporated into the storyline of The Kashmir Files, a 2022 film directed by Vivek Agnihotri based on the displacement of Kashmiri Hindus, with Bhasha Sumbli portraying a character whose killing was partially based on that of Tickoo's.[11][12][13]

See also

References

  1. ^ Girija also spelled Girja, Tickoo also spelled Tikoo and Tiku.
  1. ^ Koul 1996.
  2. ^ "Kashmir's Crisis". Hinduism Today. 1 January 2002. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  3. ^ Koul 1999, p. 201.
  4. ^ Balcerowicz & Kuszewska 2022.
  5. ^ "25 June 1990: "The Brutal Killing of Girija Tickoo: A Kashmiri Hindu Tragedy". Jammu Kashmir Now. 25 June 2024.
  6. ^ a b c Vohra & Singh 2025.
  7. ^ "Hearings on Religious Freedom in India, Pakistan". United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. 14 September 2000. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
  8. ^ Sazawal, Vijay K. (18 September 2000). "Violence Against Kashmiri Hindus (Pandits)". Kashmir Forum. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
  9. ^ Vashisht, Sunanda (14 November 2019). "Statement of Sunanda Vashisht: Hearing on Jammu and Kashmir in Context" (PDF). Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, United States House of Representatives. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
  10. ^ "Congress' history 'soaked in blood': Smriti Irani slams Rahul Gandhi". The Tribune. 10 August 2023. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
  11. ^ "'Sharda' a tribute to all victims of Kashmir genocide: Bhasha Sumbli". The Times of India. IANS. 20 March 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
  12. ^ Shekhar, Som (23 March 2022). "गिरिजा टिक्कू कौन थीं, The Kashmir Files में जिनके साथ हुई ज्यादती को दिखाया गया है" [Who is Girija Tickoo, who was raped and cut by carpenter saw in Kashmiri Pandit Exodus?]. The Lallantop (in Hindi).
  13. ^ "The Kashmir Files: Niece Of Girijia Tickoo Who Was Cut Into Two Halves Pleads People To Watch The Film, Says "Nothing Has Been Done To Receive Justice..."". Koimoi. 14 March 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2026.

Bibliography


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