Rape survivor’s family accuses police of indifference

Says FIR registered against members of powerful family favoured the accused

MINGORA: A teenage girl’s father, who accused members of a rival family of kidnapping and later sexually abusing his daughter, appealed to the chief minister, chief justice and prime minister to provide the family with justice.

The 17-year-old rape survivor is a resident of Kas, an area of Kalam tehsil. She and her father asked authorities to look into the matter after police failed to take action against the suspects who belonged to a powerful rival family.



She told The Express Tribune she was kidnapped and first kept in Jalband area of Kalam tehsil for 13 days.

“Then, I was secretly taken to Peshawar by Zeeshan Khan and Jibran Khan where I spent 13 days in their custody.”

Narrating her traumatic ordeal, the girl said she was abused and her abductors were waiting for a party to which she would be sold. “My father is a poor man and he is leaving no stone unturned to ensure justice for me.”

The survivor’s father, told The Express Tribune his daughter was abducted and the family registered an FIR, against four men — Abdul Manan, Tahir Khan, Zeeshan Khan and Jibran Khan — all of whom are members of a rival family in their native area.

They took her to an undisclosed location for several days and sexually assaulted her, apart from subjecting the teenager to violence.





Talking about police negligence, the girl’s father said the force was not complying with the family’s demand of punishing the culprits. He added a close relative of the suspects’ family was serving in the police department. He added the police first showed reluctance in filing the FIR, and even when the complaint was finally lodged, it lacked potency as necessary points were missing.

He added the courts granted bail to all four accused on the basis of the FIR which reportedly favoured the suspects.

“I now request authorities to punish the culprits in an exemplary manner so that no one dare to repeat such acts with another girl in future,” the father said.



Sohail Sultan, the family’s legal adviser, said the police’s role in the entire case is dubious. “It is a critical case and the police intentionally hid facts,” he claimed. Sultan added that police never side with the affected family in such cases which is a matter of great concern.

Kalam police station in charge Munir Khan, when contacted, said the FIR had been lodged, but the suspects were granted bail by a court.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 30^th, 2016.