SSP suggests 12-year-old may have ‘consented’

He had claimed a day earlier that the child had been raped

KARACHI: The Kandhkot SSP has suggested that a 12-year-old maid, who was allegedly raped by a group of influential men, may have consented to the act.

Section 375 of the Pakistan Penal Code says that it is rape if intercourse happened ‘with or without her consent when she is under sixteen years of age’. Despite that, Kashmore SSP Dr Samiullah Soomro – who had earlier termed it a rape case – said since there were no torture marks on the survivor’s body, it would be premature to say whether it was a gang rape or a consensual sexual intercourse.

The girl, who had been working as a maid for a few months at the Karachi residence of Rahib Sorhiani – a man from Kandhkot who does business in the provincial capital – was allegedly subjected to sexual assault.

Child servant from Kandhkot raped in Karachi

The main accused in the Malir Cantt child servant rape case is still at large. On the other hand, the SSP said the police have taken the survivor’s samples for forensic examination, including deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) tests, in order to determine the main accused. "We have conducted the initial medical examination of the child and it seems to be a 20 days old case,” said the SSP. “I don't know if the DNA test in such an old case can be accurate and give us a lead in determining the culprits."

SSP Soomro had told The Express Tribune on Tuesday that an FIR No 74/2017 was registered on the complaint of the rape survivor’s father at the A Section police station in Kandhkot on Monday. According to Soomro, seven people have been nominated in the FIR, which include Sorhiani, his two sons and nephews. Sections 337 and 376 of the Pakistan Penal Code have been included in the FIR for rape and injuries.

The officer explained that the employer, Sorhiani, called the grandmother of the rape survivor on Sunday, asking her to take the child with them as she has not been feeling well. As the child was falling unconscious repeatedly, the family took her for a medical examination. A lady doctor in Kandhkot said the girl has been sexually assaulted.



Later, a police team from Kandhkot, headed by Inspector Hafeez Chacharl, reached Karachi Tuesday night and, with the collaboration of Malir police, arrested two of the nominated suspects identified as Shan and Saqib. Sorhiani, the main accused in the case, however, is still at large.

Family suspects manipulation

On Wednesday, a relative of the child said her family suspects the police will take bribes from the influential family involved in the crime and manipulate the case in the suspects’ favour. "We appeal to the CM and IG to look into the matter and provide us justice," he said.

Judicial remand

Meanwhile, the two arrested suspects were presented before a magistrate for judicial remand in Kandhkot on Wednesday.

Talking to The Express Tribune, SSP Soomro said that they have formed various teams to conduct raids to trace the whereabouts of the main culprit, Sorhiani, nominated in the FIR. "We are interrogating the two suspects, including [Sorhiani’s] son, Saqib, and nephew, Shan,” he said. “The two were earlier arrested from Karachi on Tuesday evening from their Malir Cantt residence."