Conductor arrested for allegedly raping bus passenger

Complainant says she was assaulted in the vehicle during stopover at a hotel

RAJANPUR:

A bus conductor allegedly raped a female passenger in a passenger bus travelling from Bhakkar to Karachi. The victim, a 30-year-old woman, was on her way to Karachi.

According to initial information, the victim, who was traveling alone in the bus, was allegedly raped by the conductor near Sada Aihar Hotel in Jampur.

Police reached the spot and arrested the suspect, identified as Saleem.

The incident took place when the passenger disembarked the bus to eat at the hotel.

The conductor forcibly took the lone woman to the back seat of the bus and raped her.

A case was registered on the complaint of the victim, while her medical examination proved that she was sexually abused. The arrested accused also confessed to the crime, according to police officials.

He will be produced in court for further action.

Chief Minister Punjab Hamza Shehbaz took notice of the incident and immediately sought a report from Inspector General of Police (IGP) Punjab, Rao Sardar Ali Khan.

This incident comes after a woman was allegedly raped by security guards on a train bound for Rawalpindi earlier this week. The passenger, who was heading to Rawalpindi to visit relatives, was taken by two security guards under the pretext of not having a ticket.

The two guards took her to the train washroom, where they allegedly took turns raping her.

The two security guards, identified as Muhammad Sohail and Arshed Mehendi, were both arrested by Railways Police and a case was registered against them under 376 Section 2 of the PPC.

The above case occurred a month after another woman was sexually assaulted on the Karachi-bound Bahauddin-Zakariya Express at the end of May this year.

According to details, three members of train staff allegedly lured a female passenger to a compartment before gang-raping her.

The accused reportedly threatened the victim with death if she came forward regarding the incident and also filmed the assault.

Railways police arrested all three accused train staff, identified as ticket officer Zahid, train manager Aaqib and Zohaib, after the victim gave her statement.

Measures were adopted by the Railways Department to prevent any such incidents in future, including introducing a Women’s Safety App.

Similarly, a case originated from Rajanpur in September 2013, where a suspect allegedly raped a 5-year-old girl.

The suspect, 22-year-old Arif, abducted the girl while she was playing outside by luring her with sweets.

He then allegedly raped her, leaving her in a field.

The victim was brought to a hospital by a passerby, where it was confirmed through a medical examination that she had been subjected to sexual abuse. Hospital sources confirmed the girl’s condition as stable.

Meanwhile, police arrested Arif on the complaint of the girl’s father.

The SHO confirmed that while in custody, Arif confessed to the crime, deeming it a “mistake he never planned to make”.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, July 4^th, 2022.