Karak rape case: Committee formed to investigate incident

Suspension orders for DPO Karak yet to be issued.

PESHAWAR:

Keeping in view the sensitivity of the case and above all, suo motu notice by the Peshawar High Court (PHC), the provincial government has constituted a high-level eleven-member committee to investigate the rape.

Sakina* a rape victim, had approached the PHC, a day after she escaped from her abductors to seek justice for being subjected continuously to rape for 10 months. She had alleged that three of her abductors were police officials who are already under investigation. But eight days after the previous committee recommended steps to correct procedural flaws in the rape investigation, her brother was murdered on court premises, while escorting her to a hearing.

The committee, headed by Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Idrees Khan, has been mandated to investigate the incident to bring the culprits to justice.

The investigation team, on the very first day, visited the Takht-e-Nusrati police station and took all the record into custody.

Chief Justice PHC, Justice Dost Muhammad Khan on December 13, had summoned the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) police chief, home secretary and advocate general and ordered the suspension of District Police Officer (DPO) Karak Sajid Muhammad.

He had also directed that a show cause notice be issued to DIG Kohat Masud Khan Afridi. He had also constituted two committees to investigate the incident and ordered police to provide maximum security to the rape victim. But despite Chief Justice Khan’s directive, suspension orders for the DPO have not been issued till the filing of this report.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 15^th, 2011.