Girl allegedly raped by railway staff

Victim had gone to Okara Railway Station to catch train to Karachi

OKARA:

An enquiry has been ordered into an alleged rape incident that took place at Okara Railway Station on May 10.

Police said that a girl was allegedly raped by an employee of the Okara Railway Station. The suspect escaped after forcing the victim onto a train to Karachi.

Karachi Cantt Station Police registered a case against the suspect, Haseeb, and started an enquiry.

Meanwhile, the Minister of State, Mian Moin Khan Wattoo, who is also the chairman of the Railway Standing Committee, took notice of the incident and ordered the relevant authorities to conduct an enquiry into the incident.

Four railway men, including the station master of the Okara Railway Station, have been suspended.

On the night of May 10, a girl, N, arrived at the Okara Railway Station to catch a train to Karachi.

The suspect allegedly told the girl that she didn’t have to buy a ticket, and that he would help her travel all the way to Karachi for free.

The victim fell for it after which the suspect took her to the parcel branch of the railway station where he allegedly raped her.

The suspect then forced the victim onto the Karachi-bound train. After arriving in Karachi, the victim informed the railway police about the matter after consulting with her relatives.

The Cantt Railway Police registered an FIR and dispatched an investigation team led by DSP Shaukat to Okara to enquire into the incident and arrest the suspect. The Minister of State, Mian Moin Wattoo, said a thorough investigation into the alleged rape case would be conducted and the culprits punished.

Last year in May, a woman who had been travelling from Multan to Karachi on the Bahauddin Zakariya Express was allegedly gang-raped by railway staff. All three suspects involved in the heinous crime were arrested by Railway Police, Express News had reported.

A case was registered at the City Police Station in Karachi, and ticket-checker Zahid, his alleged accomplice Train Manager Aaqib and another person identified as Zohaib were nominated in the case.

As per the FIR, the victim left Muzaffargarh for Karachi but could not get a ticket from Multan station. The victim, in her statement to the police, had said that when the train left Rohri Station, Zahid approached her, offering to give her a berth in an AC (air-conditioned) compartment.

The woman said the ticket-checker followed her to the compartment and sexually assaulted her while giving life threats to stay mum. Later, Aaqib and Zohaib also raped the helpless woman in the same compartment.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 15^th, 2023.