Rape charges: Youth remanded into police custody

HARIPUR: A teenager has been arrested for allegedly raping a schoolgirl and impregnating her, Haripur police stated on Sunday.

The accused was produced before a judicial magistrate on Sunday morning, who remanded him in to police custody for two days. Khalabat Township police said that 16-year-old Saman Bibi*, a student of grade 10, had a relationship with 19-year-old Zeeshan, son of Safran, from the same area. The two had been in love for a couple of years.

Zeeshan had vowed to marry her and had allegedly raped her intermittently over the last nine months. However, Saman Bibi* fell sick. When her condition worsened, her mother took her to a local doctor who, after examining her, confirmed that she was pregnant.

Saman Bibi* said that the news enraged her parents who first beat her up and then took her to the police station where she lodged a complaint against Zeeshan for raping her. She was taken to hospital again, where doctors confirmed that she was pregnant with an eight-week-old foetus.

The police have registered a criminal case against Zeeshan under section 376 of the Pakistan Penal Code for engaging in underage sexual intercourse with a maximum prison term of two years and fine. He was subsequently arrested.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 17^th, 2016.