Police gang-rape case takes a twist

ISLAMABAD: In another twist to the alleged police gang-rape case, the victim has now claimed policemen committed an unnatural act with her.

In her statement before the court on Saturday, Natasha, the alleged victim of gang rape, maintained that she was sodomised during her detention in the police station.

The fresh statement comes after an eight-member medical board on Thursday confirmed that the girl was not pregnant. After these fresh allegations, assistant sessions judge Taxila extended the physical remand of the accused for another three days.

One of the main accused Inspector Sajid Gondal had obtained pre-arrest bail from Haripur on Friday and he appeared in the court hearing on Saturday. Another main accused Sub-Inspector Muhammad Mumtaz, who had earlier moved the court for his own and the victim’s DNA tests, has now offered to bear all the expenses on the tests.

However, the DNA samples have yet not been taken.

Earlier, Natasha had maintained that certain police officials had gang-raped her during ‘illegal detention’ in the Taxila Police Station. In her statement before the court on April 17, she also accused that she had been heavily drugged during detention.

The court had asked her to get certain medical tests to establish her claims but the victim was reluctant to appear for the tests. She claimed that she had already been medically tested. However, the court again directed the authorities to conduct the necessary tests on the girl last week.

The three-member committee which probed the matter on the directions of the Punjab chief minister also submitted in its report that the tests were necessary. The girl had been brought to the DHQ Rawalpindi where an eight-member medical board confirmed that she was not pregnant.

Published in the Express Tribune, May 31^st, 2010.