Sexual violence: Woman allegedly gang-raped in hotel

MANSEHRA:

A woman was allegedly gang-raped in a hotel in Mansehra on Saturday.

Hajra*, 42, told the City Police she was on her way to Phulra village with her daughter and a close relative Naeem Shah when it got very late and they decided to stay in a hotel near the bus stand.

The three were staying in one room when the hotel owner Muzammil* came and knocked on the door, calling Shah outside, said SHO Arshad Khan quoting the victim. After Shah stepped out, Abbasi and five other men entered the room and gang-raped Hajra.

They locked Hajra in the room but as her condition worsened, they returned with medicines and told her not to lodge a complaint.

To prevent the victim from filing an FIR, the accused also tried to threaten her through a jirga. Medical reports issued after Hajra was examined have also confirmed the rape. A case has been registered against the men.

Muzammil and his servant, who was among the accused, have been arrested. They were presented before the court on Sunday and sent to Mansehra jail on a judicial remand. The other accused remain unidentified.

Speaking to journalists in the courtroom, the accused said the FIR is a plot by some of their enemies to malign them.

*Names have been changed to protect privacy.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 26^th, 2013.