July 8, 2002	Monday	Rabi-us-Sani 26,1423

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MULTAN, July 7: The surrender by the chief juror in the Meerwala gang-rape at the offices of a local daily on Saturday is a mystery for newsmen covering the case.

Sources in the police department said Faiz Bakhsh returned to Jatoi tehsil on Thursday last and met an area bigwig to seek his guarantee that police would not kill him in an encounter.

Sources said the attention the case had drawn here and abroad might have terrified the perpetrators of the gruesome crime that they could be killed in managed encounters.

Usually, influentials in rural areas do broker surrender deals in order to win police favour by handing over an accused and support of the electorate by ensuring certain ‘securities’ for the wanted men.

But influential Faiz Bakhsh failed to win the backing of his patrons who had distanced themselves from the case following allegations of patronizing hostile Mastoi clan in Meerwala village.

Sources disclosed that for a safe landing at the police station and to bring his arrest on record, the chief juror decided to stage a drama of courting arrest at the daily’s offices.

At the office, Faiz Bakhsh gave a detailed statement to defend himself against the accusations of announcing a verdict to disgrace the sister of 12-year-old Shakoor who was accused by Abdul Khaliq of having illicit relations with his (Khaliq’s) 18-year-old sister “T”.

Meanwhile, a war of accusations and counter-accusations has ensued among the area bigwigs to put blame of patronizing the Mastois to such an extent that their gruesome act had shaken the whole society. Jatois, Syeds and Hinjras are blaming one another for the act. Now, no one is inclined to accept the responsibility of ‘spoiling’ Mastois.

Sources in the Muzaffargarh administration said arrests in the Meerwala case could be materialized when some political stalwarts of Muzaffargarh were told that they could also be arrested for ‘harbouring’ the perpetrators.

ASI: The Dera DIG said though there was no complaint from the complainant against the arrested ASI of the Jatoi police station, the departmental probe found him guilty of neglect and malpractices. “The department has taken action against the ASI after obtaining some evidences.”