Delayed justice: Police fail to arrest 12-year-old gang rape victims murderers

Imran was kidnapped and killed 6 months ago, cops stalling investigation

MULTAN:

The body of a 12-year-old boy, who was gang raped and murdered by a landlord and his accomplices, was found in a well two weeks ago. Police officials are reluctant to pursue a case against the accused.

Dunyapur resident Moin Ahmed’s 12-year-old son Imran went missing on January 30 and his family said that he often stayed at the farm house of a local landlord Malik Akram Awan. Moin was a labourer in Awan’s fields and his son often helped him with his work. On January 30, Imran’s mother Sherbano Bibi said that she repeatedly went out to the fields to ask if he had been spotted but no one told her where he was. “People at home said that he was with his father in the fields but others at the farm house said he had already returned home. We didn’t see him again after that,” she told reporters.

Residents of the village searched the farm house and other areas in the village but were unable to locate Imran for weeks but could not locate him.

The boy’s parents tried to launch an investigation for months but no one in the police department has been willing to take action on the issue. A few weeks later Imran’s brother found his dead body in a well. Hospital officials confirmed that the boy had been gang raped by at least three people and a post mortem report revealed that he had also been brutally beaten and tortured with iron rods. “We submitted a report with the police testifying what had happened,” said Dr Rasheed.

District Superintendent Police (DSP) Zafar Buzdar recovered the boy’s body and ordered the initial post mortem. A FIR was registered a week in the Jalla Araayin police station under Section 302 (21/2011) but police officials have been reluctant to pursue the case. “They have constantly asked us to take back the case because the accused are powerful men. I don’t care because I want justice for what happened to my son,” Moin said.

Local villagers said that Moin and his wife Sherbano Bibi had gone half mad after their son’s death. “They are barely even coherent most of the time. Sometime they don’t even recognise their other children but they always say they will never give up on pursuing the case,” their neighbour told reporters.

Imran’s body was found by his older brother in a well and the well lies in the jurisdiction of the Dynyahpur, Lodhran sub-district. “The well is in a different village and the area has been a bone of contention between the police. All the police officials keep saying that it is not within their jurisdiction because they want to avoid dealing with the landlords,” said resident Haroon Alvi.

Even though a case was filed several months ago, three station house officers (SHOs) have already been changed on this case during the last five months. Lodhran District Police Officer (DPO) Agha Muhammad Yousaf visited the area twice but the people accused in the case remain free.

Investigation officer Zafar Baloch has reportedly tried to convince Imran’s family to drop the case because of landlord’s political affiliations. Imran’s family insist they want justice for their son and that they will not give up even though they are poor and can hardly afford to travel to the police station regularly. “We have already convened 12 panchayat’s on the issue but no one is willing to take a stance,” Imran’s brother Saleem said.

The relatives of the victim have appealed to the chief justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Choudary, Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif and IG Punjab Javed Iqbal to take notice of the incident.

* The name of the victim and his family have been altered to protect their identity

Published in The Express Tribune, July 10^th, 2011.