Fort Monroe station: Three border policemen remanded in rape case

Victims reveal true identities in court.

DERA GHAZI KHAN: The court on Monday remanded three border military policemen accused of raping five girls and filming the attack.

Five policemen are suspects in the rape case which took place last Thursday at the Fort Monroe station in Dera Ghazi Khan. While two suspects are still at large, three of the accused surrendered themselves and have been remanded till June 14.

After the women went to the police, the accused took refuge with tribal elders, who handed them back to police late Sunday, said district administrator Iftikhar Ali Sahu.

The five young women aged 15 to 21 were presented before a sessions judge in a local court. Justice Rana Muhammad Yousuf refused to allow the victims to return to their parents and said they would be under the custody of administration officials till the identities of their guardians are ascertained.

Preliminary investigations revealed the victims had hidden their true identities. The court was informed that the girls had names and addresses different from the ones they had given to the police earlier.

On the other hand, the husband of one of the rape victims alleges that police investigators had beaten two of the girls in an effort to make them change their statements. He claims the policemen want the victims to ‘admit’ they are prostitutes and had come to the picnic resort on ‘business’.

The police official he accused of torture, Inspector (crime branch) Nazeer Babar had been suspended during the investigations of the infamous Mukhtaran Mai rape case for the same allegations. Court proceedings to determine who will get custody of the girls will be held today (Tuesday). (With additional input from AFP)

Published in The Express Tribune, June 12^th, 2012.