10-year-old reportedly raped in Regi

Police claim this is case of attempted rape and act was not committed

PESHAWAR: A 10-year-old boy was reportedly raped in Mulazai village within the Regi police jurisdiction on Monday.

Complainant Zahir Shah lodged an FIR with Regi police station, stating his 10-year-old son was missing from the house in Miskeenabad area of Mulazai village. He said when he went to look for him, he found him crying near their house. Shah said his son told him that their neighbour Adnan, 24, tortured and raped him inside his house. When contacted, Regi SHO Ahmad Gul told The Express Tribune the boy was not raped. “It is a case of attempted rape,” he said.

Gul added Adnan was a 24-year-old adult who tortured and tried to rape the child of his neighbour. “We raided his house, but he had managed to flee,” the SHO said, adding a search for the culprit and investigation into the matter were under way. He assured Adnan will be arrested soon.

Gul also claimed the investigation team took the child for a medical examination and found he was not raped.

Talking to The Express Tribune, child rights activist Arshad Mahmood said once again the focus in all child abuse cases should be on prevention rather than on policing because sexual assault destroys lives forever.

He added, “This is especially the case in a country like Pakistan where there was no rehabilitation effort for such children.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 31^st, 2016.