Police allegedly sell girl who accused them of raping her

16-year-old girl was abducted on April 13

KARACHI: Police allegedly sold a rape victim to her ‘distant relatives’ after she accused some police officials before a court of raping her.

An additional district and sessions judge had ordered the arrest of suspects, Konain, Muhammad and Ali Hassan, who were accused of kidnapping and gang raping a 16-year-old girl after rejecting their bail pleas. The victim informed the court that the police had arrested the kidnappers when they recovered her. However, the police later released them after receiving bribe from them and some police personnel raped the girl at the police station. The court also ordered the case to be transferred to another police station.

The kidnapping

The girl's mother registered a complaint regarding her abduction on April 13. She alleged that some men on a motorcycle came to their house that day and forcibly took her daughter away.

The mother explained that she and her daughter were at home. She was in her room while her daughter was doing some work in the courtyard when she heard the noise of a motorcycle at the front door. According to the mother, when she came out of her room, she found that her daughter was missing. Later, some people in the neighbourhood told her that they saw some men fleeing with the girl on the motorcycle.



When the girl was produced in the court, she recorded her statement and maintained that a man, Konain, kidnapped her on April 13 after intoxicating her. He took her to an undisclosed location where he, along with Muhammad and Hasan held her captive and raped her.

Ordeal at police station

The girl added that she was later recovered by a police team during a raid at the location. She alleged that the police initially arrested the kidnappers but later released them against bribe.

The girl accused a police official, Nafeesuddin, of demanding bribe from her for her release. Upon her refusal to pay money, the police detained her and two officials, Kazim and Zafar Bajwa, and molested her in the night. She informed the court that she cried for help but no police official came to her rescue. Instead, the police threatened her with dire consequences if she did not cooperate with them.

After the girl's statement, the court ordered action against police officials involved in her illegal detention and rape and allowed the girl to go with her mother.



However, the police did not allow her to go with her mother in defiance of court order and 'sold' her to some people, whom they called her distant relatives, against Rs100,000. According to the girl's lawyer, Rao Zahid, the investigation officer sold the girl to her 'distant relatives' and did not let her mother enter the police station. She was found one day later in a house of a man, Adnan, from where the mother took the custody of the girl.

The girl and her mother have been receiving threatening messages, the lawyer said, adding that SP Abid Qaimkhani called them at his office and asked them not to take the names of police officers involved in the rape. The lawyer said his clients had filed a harassment petition in the Supreme Court, in which they had nominated SP Qaimkhani, Nafeesuddin, Kazim and other police officers.

Name withheld to protect identity