New revelation: Police deny rape on Panchayat’s order

BAHAWALPUR: The incident involving rape of a minor girl in Bahawalpur on December 15 took a new turn when the police denied involvement of panchayat and revealed that the victim was sexually assaulted due to an old enmity. Derawar Police Station SHO Muhammad Afzaal told The Express Tribune, “There is no panchayat involved in the incident.” He added, “Safdar and Azam had an old enmity and in a bid to take revenge, Safdar sexually assaulted Azam’s daughter.” He maintained only Safdar raped the girl, whereas Akhtar and Bilal facilitated him in the crime. He said the police had arrested Safdar while raids were being conducted to arrest Akhtar and Bilal.

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