LHC rejects ‘fabricated’ police report

Lahore High Court directs the police to reinvestigate the alleged rape of a handicapped woman by a constable.

LAHORE: Chief Justice (CJ) Khawaja Muhammad Sharif of the Lahore High Court has directed the police to reinvestigate the alleged rape of a handicapped woman by a constable.

On Monday, the SP (Investigations) appeared in court with a report stating that the woman had concocted the story in order to “sabotage” the arrest of her husband and mother-in-law. But the CJ, who opened the case by taking suo motu notice of a story about the alleged rape in the press, rejected the report of the SSP (Operations), calling it a “fabricated story”. He ordered the SSP to hold a fresh inquiry and report the results to the court by September 24. “Police officials play havoc with the lives of innocent citizens. Their officers protect them and waste the courts’ time,” he observed.

According to the press report, the woman, Bushra, was brought to the CIA Nawankot police station for questioning after her husband and his mother were arrested in connection with a kidnapping case. She was then taken home by a driver, accompanied by Sub Inspector Mian Aslam and Constable Javed Bhatti, on the orders of DSP Nasir Hanif.

According to Bushra, the constable and driver orally abused her. Bhatti later turned up drunk at her house, took her three children hostage and raped her at gunpoint, she said.

The CJ observed that the police had “facilitated the commission of the offence” by sending the police constable with the woman back to her house. “The courts, being the custodians of the life, honour and liberty of the people, are bound to come to the rescue of ordinary people, especially the weak,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 21^st, 2010.