MULTAN: An alleged rape victim and her mother on Wednesday tried to immolate themselves as a protest against police failure to arrest the suspect.
The family of a 12-year-old ‘rape victim’ took to the street to protest against the Muzaffarabad police and demonstrated outside the press club.
The protesters said a relative raped the girl on Sept 19 and went into hiding. They said the Muzaffarabad police registered a case 517/14 against the suspect.
Later, they said the police instead of arresting the suspect approached the Qutabpur police and lodged an FIR against the victim’s father on the allegation of kidnapping the lad. They said they visited the offices of the regional police officer and the city police officer to plead their case but all in vain.
Among the protesters was the victim who, along with her mother, stepped forward and they sprinkled petrol to burn themselves but their relatives foiled their bid.
A police team reached the spot and took the two to the Cantonment police station while assuring them that their issue would be resolved. The protesters dispersed after some time.
Such issues used to be taken up at open courts in the offices of the RPO and the CPO but now the practice has almost ended after former RPO Muhammad Amin Wains had been transferred a couple of months ago.
Mr Wains had opened the doors to his office for complainants and citizens and directed his staff to allow every person with some grievance into his office.
FIRE:A cooling tower of a fertiliser factory caught fire here on Wednesday, raising a dense cloud of smoke.
No casualty was reported in the incident which, according to sources, took place in a fertiliser manufacturing factory due to welding. A fire-fighting team reached the spot and tamed the flames within an hour. The factory administration said it was closed for the last few months but safety arrangements were in place to prevent any accident.
‘Rape victim’s family rejects court verdict
MUZAFFARGARH: The family of the girl who had committed self-immolation on March 13 in an alleged gang-rape case have warned of committing ‘collective self-immolation’ against the verdict of the sessions court which has acquitted all the four accused in the case.
Talking to the media, the family, including deceased girl’s mother, said they would not appeal against the sessions court verdict. She said she was punished for approaching Dr Tahirul Qadri and joining his sit-in in Islamabad where she appeared on the podium with him and appealed for justice.
She said they would seek justice from God and the whole family would commit suicide by burning themselves outside the Bait Meer Hazar police station, Jatoi tehsil, where their daughter had committed self-immolation.
The 17-year-old girl, a college student, had set herself ablaze outside the police station, in protest against the police which, she alleged, had favoured the accused during the investigation, resulting in their bail. She had received burns and died at Nishtar Hospital, Multan.
The Supreme Court had taken suo motu notice of the incident and held proceedings of the case before ordering the Multan district and sessions court to hear the case.
Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had ordered arrest of policemen under the terrorism charges for negligence in the case. He had also visited the deceased girl’s house, ordered an inquiry into the matter by forming a team under Assistant Inspector General Special Branch Muhammad Amlesh.
Multan District and Sessions Court judge Bahadur Ali had withheld the decision on Thursday but announced it at night under strict security. He announced acquitting all the four accused.
The police officials, including Sadar circle DSP Asghar, DSP Abdul Latif, SHO Idrees, SHO Shahid and investigation officer Rana Zulfiqar, who were accused of negligence were also acquitted.
Flood
The water level in the Chenab had a sharp surge due to heavy rains in the last three days, officials told Dawn on Friday.
Irrigation EXEN Rana Afzal said water flow in the river was 120,000 cusecs and the department had made all emergency arrangements to cope with flood situation.
The overflowing water has inundated one kilometre area along the river.
The locals said the irrigation officials had failed to plug a breach and did not make supporting embankment in Rangpur, Muradabad and Langer Sarai.
DCO Hafiz Shaukat Ali said almost 500,000 cusec water would cross the district but according to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) 700,000 cusec water would be in Muzaffargarh in the next four days.
When Dawn visited some embankments on Friday where unmanned camps were seen with no official present to monitor the flood.
A local man said that they had seen officials at the embankment on Thursday when some high level officials visited the site. He said the government had not issued any warning to them so far and all the residents were relying on their own judgment regarding flooding.
The DCO visited Alipur to see the flood situation with irrigation teams.
Talking to Dawn, the DCO said the Chenab had capacity to accommodate 500,000 cusecs water that would cross the district in next five days.
He said he had asked the departments concerned and local population to remain alert.
Rape victim who set herself ablaze dies
MUZAFFARGARH: A girl, who set herself ablaze in in Bet Mir Hazar area in protest against a police report which helped her alleged rapist obtain bail, succumbed to her injuries today, DawnNews reported.
Sources told Dawn.com that she died at 9 am Friday morning.
Moreover, the main accused in the alleged rape was rearrested today whereas the investigating officer was also arrested.
Meanwhile, Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani took suo motu notice of the incident today.
He moreover sought a report from District Police Officer Muzaffargarh and summoned Inspector General Punjab on March 17.
In his remarks, Chief Justice Jillani questioned as to what justice the Punjab government was providing to its people.
Earlier on Thursday, a local court had granted bail to the main accused in the alleged rape, following which the girl went to the Bet Mir Hazar police station and lodged a protest with an investigation officer for favouring the accused in his report.
She had later doused her clothes with petrol and set herself on fire outside the police station in the presence of her younger brother. Some passers-by and policemen had taken her to Jatoi Civil Hospital. She had been later shifted to Nishtar Hospital in Multan because of her critical condition.
Nishtar Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Shaukat Malik said the girl had sustained 80 per cent burns.
According to sources, the 18-year-old girl was returning home from her college on Jan 5 when the accused, along with his four accomplices, allegedly raped her in a deserted area.
Rape victim sets herself ablaze after accused freed on bail
MUZAFFARGARH: A first-year student was critically injured on Thursday when she attempted self-immolation in Bet Mir Hazar area, about 40km from here, in protest against a police report which helped her alleged rapist obtain bail.
According to sources, the 18-year-old girl was returning home from her college on Jan 5 when the accused, along with his four accomplices, allegedly raped her in a deserted area.
Police registered a case of attempted rape.
When a local court granted bail to the main accused on Thursday, the girl went to the Bet Mir Hazar police station and lodged a protest with investigation officer Zulfiqar Ahmad for favouring the accused in his report.
She later doused her clothes with petrol and set herself on fire outside the police station in the presence of her younger brother. Some passers-by and policemen took her to Jatoi Civil Hospital. She was later shifted to Nishtar Hospital in Multan because of her critical condition.
Nishtar Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Shaukat Malik said the girl had sustained 80 per cent burns.
A medical expert said patients with more than 50pc burns rarely survived.
District Police Officer Usman Akram Gondal suspended SHO Rai Shahid and ASI Zulfikar.
The Punjab chief minister took notice of the incident and sought a report.
The girl had approached rights activist Mukhtar Mai to seek her help when the case was under investigation. Mai reportedly visited the police station and requested police officers to do justice.
Gang-rape victim narrates ordeal
MUZAFFARGARH, July 5: A woman, gang-raped on the orders of a village jury in a Punjab village, said on Friday she kept begging for mercy, but none from hundreds of people around helped her as four men dragged her to a room and gang-raped her.
Mukhtaran Mai and her father said no one from the crowd dared to object to the verdict of the traditional jury, or Panchayat, of village elders for fear of their lives.
“They kept dragging me towards the room,” Mai told Reuters Television about the incident that has sparked a national outcry.
“My father, uncle and myself begged for mercy from them (jury) and the people sitting there but no one came to our help,” she said at Muzaffargarh town near her Meerwala Jatoi village.
“They raped me for one hour and afterwards I was unable to move,” Mai said. “After one hour, I called my father and uncle to take me home.”
A close relative of Mai fainted as she spoke about the ordeal she suffered as a punishment for an alleged love affair her brother had with a girl of a “high-class” tribe.
“We begged for mercy in the name of God, but they held guns on us and thus we were helpless,” Mai’s father Ghulam Farid Gujjar said about the incident that happened on June 22, but was registered as a complaint by police only about a week later.
Police said on Friday they had arrested one of the four alleged rapists and were hunting for three others as the Supreme Court heard the provincial police chief saying he was unaware of the incident even a week after it had happened.
“It is unbelievable that the IG (Inspector-General of Police), being the head of the police, came to know about the facts of case so late,” Chief Justice Sheikh Riaz Ahmad remarked during a brief hearing in Lahore.
The country’s top court had summoned the provincial police chief and local police officials to explain the incident after newspaper reports that a crowd of villagers, too frightened to protest against the jury’s ruling, watched four men take turns to rape Mai inside a farmhouse and force her to walk home naked.
The government, which has vowed to pursue the case, on Thursday handed a cheque for 500,000 rupees ($8,200) to Mai.
Local newspaper reports had said Mai was an 18-year-old, but Punjab police chief Malik Asif Hayat told the Supreme Court she was actually a 30-year-old divorcee.
“I would have committed suicide if the government had not come to my help,” Mai told Women’s Development Minister Attiya Inayatullah who gave her the cheque.
Inayatullah said the government was considering setting up a summary court to deliver quick punishment to those responsible for the gang-rape.
Newspaper reports said on Friday another young girl of the same area committed suicide a few days ago after being raped. The authorities have confirmed the report.—Reuters
