Haripur cops accused of raping teenage boy

Victim’s father says son kept in illegal detention for two days

HARIPUR:

A head constable and three other cops of the City police station in Haripur district have been accused of sexually assaulting a teenage boy in custody, filming the act, and registering a case of theft against him in a bid to silence him.

According to sources, the victim’s family staged a protest in front of the district police officer (DPO)’s office, asking the official to launch an investigation into the matter.

Taking cognisance of the matter, sources said, Haripur DPO ordered an inquiry to bring the facts to the fore.

The father of the victim alleged in the application submitted with DPO that a head constable of the City police along with three other police personnel in plainclothes picked his son up from outside his residence and detained him at a private torture cell for two days.

He stated that their area falls within the limits of Kot Najibullah police station and the City police personnel have no legal authority to pick anyone from an area falling outside their jurisdiction.

He said when his son was presented before a court after two days, he narrated the entire ordeal and said he had been sexually assaulted during the detention.

“The culprits also made a video during the sexual assault. Their private torture cells should be abolished and they should be brought to justice,” the complainant said.

In the application, the father of the victim also said the innocent youth has been implicated in a bogus case.

The complainant also requested the DPO to conduct a medical examination of the victim if he wanted to crosscheck his claims. The DPO assured the complainant that justice would be dispensed through a thorough probe.

According to a spokesperson for the police, a request regarding the sexual abuse and torture of the youth has been received and the DPO Omer Khan has taken notice of the case and has appointed SDPO Ghazi Yaseen Janjua as the inquiry officer. He said the DPO has ordered the officer to complete the inquiry at the earliest.

The spokesperson also said the investigators are looking at the matter from various aspects and a transparent inquiry would determine the course of the case.

On the other hand, Jamaat-e-Islami leader and social worker Imran Alizai blasted the Haripur police and said there is a state of lawlessness in the district.

He alleged that tainted officials of the department are roaming freely and corrupt police officers have been posted at the same police station for the last 20 years with political backing.

“Such elements should be removed from the post and expelled from the district,” he said.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, February 26^th, 2023.