Muzaffargarh self-immolation: IG told to submit final report into tragedy

Parents of the victim fear for their safety, seek protection.

ISLAMABAD:

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Punjab inspector general (IG) to submit a final report on the Muzaffargarh rape and the victim’s subsequent self-immolation by April 21.

The three-judge bench led by Chief Justice Tassuduq Hussain Jilani issued the directives after being told by the acting Punjab advocate general (AG) that investigations into the matter were under way. The acting AG informed the bench that the probe would be finalised once investigators received the report of the Punjab Forensic Science Academy and sought two weeks time for the purpose.

Meanwhile, the parents of the victim told the bench that they feared for their safety since certain police officials from the area were involved in the affair and sought protection for themselves. They also urged the court to bring to justice all those police officials who tried to protect their daughter’s alleged rapist.

In response to the grievance, acting Punjab AG Mustafa Ramday assured the court that he would contact the Muzaffargarh district police officer to ensure all accused are brought to justice and the victim’s family is provided protection.

Ramday added that the police officer who had been accused of partisanship while investigating the rape incident was behind bars while the deputy superintendent who confirmed the alleged rapist’s innocence had been nominated in a second case and is currently on pre-arrest bail.

The hearing of the case has been adjourned till April 21.

The 17-year-old college student set herself on fire in front of the Mir Hazar Khan police station last month after learning that her alleged rapists were set free on bail following faulty investigations. The police initially registered an attempted suicide case against the victim before she succumbed to her injuries.

On March 17, after the Supreme Court had taken suo motu notice of the incident, the Punjab IG submitted an initial report before the bench, admitted that the teenage victim was neither medically examined nor subjected to a DNA test after she complained that she was raped.

The report also outlined the reasons behind why investigators declared the alleged rapists innocent.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 3^rd, 2014.