Police ASI facing rape charge eludes arrest

RAWALPINDI:

An assistant sub-inspector (ASI), who had allegedly raped an 18-year-old girl in the Rawat area has eluded arrest despite the registration of a case against him.

The accused ASI, who allegedly raped the girl at the Rawat police chowki after kidnapping her from a flat, has gone underground after a case was registered against him on the orders of City Police Officer (CPO) Syed Shehzad Nadim Bukhari.

The CPO has also suspended three other police officials including an ASI of the Choki for protecting the accused ASI identified as Raja Saeed Akmal.

Sources told The Express Tribune that the initial medical examination of the victim girl has confirmed the rape. The sources said that the DNA report of the victim and the accused will be sent for forensic testing before initiating the legal case against the accused.

The police have failed to arrest ASI Raja Saeed Akmal despite registering a case. Police sources probing the incident said that a formal investigation has been started after the case was registered against the accused ASI.

The sources said that the victim girl, who hailed from Lahore, was visiting her friend and living in a flat located in a private housing society in the Rawat area.

The sources said that the accused ASI along with other policemen raided the flat and forced open the door, subjecting the victim girl, her friend and other family members to the worst torture before kidnapping her.

According to the sources, in her initial statement, the victim girl told investigators that ASI Saeed Akmal Raja raped her three times inside the police chowki and also made her naked videos. She told the investigators that the accused threatened her with dire consequences if she shared her ordeal with anyone. The accused also threatened the victim that she would be booked in a drug case if she approached any forum against him.

The accused asked the victim to visit the police chowki every week to save herself from being implicated in a drug case, the source said while quoting the girl.

According to the sources, the police investigation team also visited the crime scene and collected vital evidence on the identification of the victim.

Police sources said that the accused has gone into hiding to avoid arrest and his mobile phone was going switched off.

A spokesperson for the police said that an investigation into the rape case was being carried out on merit. He said that the DNA test of the victim and the accused will be carried out for the forensic test.

The spokesperson said that the accused will be arrested soon.

Police sources further said that the victim girl will also record her statement under 164 today in the court of Civil Judge Sana Afzal Majeed in Rawalpindi. Arrangements have been made to ensure the security of the victim girl.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, December 17^th, 2022.