Brutal attacks: Two girls gang-raped in separate incidents

Another girl says she was abducted and later sold into forced marriage.

FAISALABAD:

Two girls were gang-raped in separate incidents in Jhang on Thursday, while another girl escaped from her abductor, who had allegedly forced her into marriage.

In the first incident, in Kot Naulan, three men raped a 17-year-old girl.

Athara Hazari police said Azhar Abbas, Fakhar Abbas and another unidentified suspect forced their way into the girl’s home when she was alone and kidnapped her. “They took her to a deserted place outside the village where all three raped her,” Muhammad Amjad, a relative of the victim, told journalists.

He said the accused severely tortured the girl when she tried to resist the assult. “When the girl started screaming, the accused fled,” Amjad said. He said the victim had been taken to a hospital where doctors had stated that her condition remained critical.

The Athara Hazari police SHO said a case had been registered against the accused and police were waiting for the medical report. “A police team has also been constituted to locate and arrest the accused,” the SHO said.

The second incident of gang-rape took place in Gahnaywala village where five men gang-raped a girl after they broke into her house. Waryam police said that the five suspects, including Ejaz Ahmad, Shahid Ali and Azhar, had overpowered the girl when she was home alone. “The five raped the girl in her house before fleeing the scene. A case had been registered against the accused and further action would be initiated after the medico-legal report was received, the Waryam police SHO said. He said that the police were conducting raids to apprehend the accused.

Raped and sold

Separately, in Faisalabad, a girl who had been abducted, gang-raped for several days, and later sold and forced into a marriage, escaped from captivity. The girl’s brother spoke of her sister’s ordeal when journalists met him on Thursday.

The girl was allegedly abducted by five men from village 273-JB on June 26. The five accused raped her and sold her to another man, who forced her into marrying him.

Nasir Abbas, the victim’s brother, told journalists that he was working at the farm of a landlord along with her sister. “Five men, including Orangzaib and Ramzan, came there on motorcycles and abducted my sister,” Abbas said.

“They took her to a deserted place and raped her. Subsequently, they sold her to a man, who raped her,” he said.

Abbas said the man who had ‘bought’ his sister got her thumb impression on a marriage certificate and told her that she was now his wife. “My mother died of grief when she heard about my sister’s abduction,” Abbas said.

“My sister succeeded in escaping from the house of her so-called husband at night and reached home. She told us what happened to her,” Abbas said.

Thikriwala police registered a case on the girl’s complaint against Orangzaib, Anwar, Mansab, Riaz, Chadran Bibi and Naseem Sadaqat and started investigation.

The Thikriwala SHO said police had recorded the girl’s statement. “We have lodged an FIR against the accused for the abduction and the rape charge would be added to the FIR when that is proved through medical examination of the victim,” the SHO said.

The SHO said the girl had gone to her uncle’s house and got married to Muhammad Qasim.

“Her brothers brought her back to their house. Muhammad Ansar, Qasim’s brother, lodged an FIR against her brothers in Mochiwala police station for abducting her,” the SHO said. He said the girl’s brothers had now lodged an FIR as revenge.

“Nasir Abbas has lodged the FIR of abduction and gang-rape against Qasim, Ramzan, Mansab and Daraz after nine days of the registration of a case at Mochiwala police station. Therefore, we have registered the case only for abduction,” the SHO said.

Faisalabad City Police Officer (CPO) Dr Haidar Ashraf directed Iqbal Town Deputy Superintendent Police (DSP) Zulfiqar Ahmad and the Thikriwala SHO to conduct an inquiry into the case. The CPO directed the SP to monitor the inquiry.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 4^th, 2014.