Sexual assault: 10-year-old girl allegedly raped in capital

Police obtain three-day remand of suspect with medical reports still awaited

ISLAMABAD: Police on Thursday said they had arrested a young man for allegedly raping a minor girl in Bani Gala area of the capital.

The 22-year-old suspect was given into police custody for three days. The 10-year-old victim*, a fourth grade student at a government school in a village near Rawal Lake, had allegedly been raped by the suspect* as she was walking back from the school on Wednesday afternoon.

In her statement to the police, the girl said that she had taken a shortcut on an unpaved trail through woods.

However, a man who was shepherding buffalos nearby, grabbed her and took her to the jungle where he raped her.

The victim said that after the sexual assault, she ran towards the road screaming while the suspect disappeared into the jungle. However, after the incident was reported to the Bani Gala police on Wednesday, police managed to apprehend the suspect.

Police said they had lodged the FIR based on the girl’s statement and launched an investigation. However, results of a medical examination of the victim were still awaited.

Meanwhile, an officer told The Express Tribune that an initial examination by the doctors did not find any penetration. The officer added that the suspect worked at a nearby buffalo pen. The police produced the suspect before a judicial magistrate on Thursday and obtained three-day physical remand for him.

*NAMED WITHHELD TO PROTECT IDENTITY

Published in The Express Tribune, February 24^th, 2017.