14-year-old plied with drugs, gang-raped in Karachi's DHA

Survivor was kept captive for nearly five months; police confirm arrest of two men and three women

KARACHI: Darakhshan Police registered on Saturday a case by a young domestic worker accusing her employers and others of drugging her and gang raping her. The police have arrested five accused in the case.

In her statement to the police, 14-year-old S*, who is a resident of Qayummabad C Area, said that a man named Israr Abbasi came to her home at 9pm four to five months ago.

He was accompanied by two women, Anum and Safia. He met with her parents and said that they were poor and he could help their daughter gain work as a maid in any bungalow.

The victim said that Safia was an acquaintance and that she lived in her neighbourhood. Based on this, her parents handed S* to them. The three accused paid Rs20,000 to her parents at the time as her first salary.

S* said that Safia, Anum and Abbasi used to rent different bungalows where they brought the unidentified people who gang-raped her. They also kept her under the influence of intoxicants.

She said that they took her to a flat on Nishat Commercial lane no. 9, in phase VI of Defence Housing Authority where three people, which she identified as Imran, Nisha and Mehreen alias Kiran, were already present.

There these three people, along with Safia and Anum, drugged her and beat her after which Abbasi, Bilal alias tension and three to four unidentified but recognisable men raped her. When she regained her senses, they drugged and raped her again. They also fed her some medicines.

The victim said that she somehow managed to escape from the flat on Friday and went home where she apprised her parents of the entire situation. She said that she had come to the police station now to report the incident.

She accused Safia, Anum, Imran, Nisha, Mehreen, Abbasi, Bilal and other unidentified people, whom she can recognise, for drugging and raping her and requested that action be taken against them.

Darakhshan Police registered case no.362/19 against the nominated accused.

When Darakhshan Police SHO Shahjahan Lashari was contacted, he said that the police have arrested five accused which include three women, Safia, Anum and one other, Abbasi and Bilal. Police are raiding for the arrest of others accused.

*Names withheld to protect identity 

Published in The Express Tribune, July 7^th, 2019.