Charges over Kashmir sex scandal

Women's groups staged protests over the sex scandal

Police in India have filed charges against nine people including a senior police officer in connection with a sex scandal in Indian-administered Kashmir.

Among those charged by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the Deputy Inspector-General of the Border Security Force, KS Padhi.

A woman alleged to be a prostitution "kingpin" has also been charged.

Two senior politicians were arrested on Tuesday in connection with the scandal, which has led to widespread protests.

Pornographic

Officials said that former state Ministers Ghulam Ahmed Mir and Raman Mattoo are still being questioned by the CBI and have not so far been charged.

The charges against the nine people filed on Saturday vary from rape to other sexual offences.

Correspondents say that anyone found guilty will face lengthy prison sentences.

A court in Srinagar - summer capital of Indian-administered Kashmir - has ordered the CBI to produce the nine accused in court on 7 July.

The accused and those being questioned are suspected of have misused their authority to force under-age girls into prostitution in Kashmir.

The scandal broke after a non-governmental group handed over a pornographic CD to the police. The CD contained images of a local girl thought to be 15 or 16 years old.

In India the age of consent is 18 years old.

The names of 56 men were disclosed after police questioned a woman alleged to be at the centre of a prostitution ring, and the underage girl.

The woman and the girl have also named 42 women linked to the scandal.