Cleric arrested for raping 11-year-old girl multiple times in Sukkur

HYDERABAD: Police arrested a cleric on Thursday for allegedly raping an 11-year-old girl multiple times in a seminary in Panu Aqil, Sukkur.

Although the FIR was registered on the complaint of the child’s father, police did not arrest the accused, Shafqat Samejo, until Sindh Police chief IGP Dr Kaleem Imam took notice of the incident. On Wednesday, Sukkur SSP Irfan Ali visited the victim’s family and recorded the statements of the girl and her father.

The family complained that the police did not initially cooperate in the investigation. Later, an FIR was registered under sections 376 and 511 of the Pakistan Penal Code against the cleric at Baiji Police Station. The girl’s medical examination has also been done.

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The case surfaced on October 25 when the girl returned home late from the seminary located in village Dildar Samejo. When the family went out to search for her, they heard her cries from a shop near a mosque. When they opened the shop, they saw the cleric abusing the child.

The medical officer, Dr Saima, of Taluka Hospital Panu Aqil confirmed rape in her initial medical report. The samples of Samejo have also been collected and sent for the DNA test.

Baiji Police Station SHO Khalil Soomro said that the accused has been putting pressure on the girl’s family. According to him, a relative of the accused submitted an application to his police station for registration of an FIR of theft of cash and jewelry against the girl’s father but the police did not register the case.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 1^st, 2019.