Muzaffargarh case: Police claim girl concocted rape story

SC rejects report; directs Multan judge to complete fresh inquiry in six weeks.

LAHORE:

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a report filed by the police in the case of Amna Bibi, an 18-year-old girl from Muzaffargarh district who died last month after setting herself ablaze.

The three-member SC bench ordered the Multan district and sessions judge to hold an inquiry and submit a comprehensive report within six weeks.

The bench, headed by Chief Justice Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, was hearing a suo motu case on Amna’s self-immolation.

Last month, Amna Bibi died after dousing herself with petrol and setting it alight outside a police station near Muzaffargarh in protest against a police report that led to the release of a key suspect.

During the hearing, Additional Inspector General of Punjab Police Khaliq Dad presented the police report, claiming that Amna Bibi had not been raped.  He said that the girl had concocted the story of her rape and had set herself on fire to implicate her family’s opponents.

Dismissing the report, chief justice questioned, how could a girl set herself on fire only to settle scores with her family’s opponents?

Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed also expressed disappointment over the report, mocking that the police could also claim that the victim did not exist and the incident had not taken place in its entirety.

During the hearing, Chief Justice Jillani assured the victim’s mother that justice will prevail.

Following the arguments, the court ordered the Multan sessions judge to submit a report within six weeks.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 22^nd, 2014.