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| October 15, 2003 | Wednesday | Sha'aban 18, 1424 |
Welfare body staff accused of criminal assaults
QUETTA, Oct 14: A woman on Tuesday accused the local staff of the Edhi Centre of repeatedly raping her for over a year while the acting in charge of the centre refuted her allegations, saying they were false and fabricated and were aimed at defaming the welfare organization.
Ganj Bibi, while speaking at a press conference here, stated that she had taken shelter at the Quetta Edhi Centre over a year ago after her husband divorced her, levelling charges against her character.
Disclosing she was three months pregnant, she said that she had registered an FIR against one of the centre’s driver, Bashir, and the Gwalmandi police had arrested. Later, she said, the police had released the accused after being influenced by officials of the welfare organization.
Accusing Bashir of criminal assault, she said that he and other members of the staff, including in charge of the centre Mohammad Naeem, had subjected her to gang rape, allegedly punishing her for reporting the case to the police. She identified others as Masood, Arif, Waheed, and Ghani for having forcibly raped her.
She also maintained that another woman, whom she identified as Zakiya, had also been subjected to repeated criminal assaults, adding that the woman had kept quite to protect her reputation. She said that she did not know the whereabouts of Zakiya.
Claiming that ambulances were being misused for raping the centre’s women staff, she said that she had lost her trust in the organization’s reputation as a protector of the weak and the persecuted.
Justifying the delay in informing the press about her plight, she said that she had tried to approach courts but was discouraged by lawyers, adding that on top of it all she had been continually under threat by the centre’s staff.
Ganj Bibi said that she would soon file an application in the Balochistan High Court and call for justice to be provided against the Edhi Centre’s staff, who she said were exploiting hapless and innocent women.
APP adds: Acting in charge of Edhi Centre, Quetta, Haji Maqsood said that the driver, Bashir, had no connection with the centre now as he was sacked by Maulana Abdul Sattar Edhi on July 8, 2003 because of improper behaviour.
He said Bashir had duped Ganj Bibi by promising to marry her, adding his refusal to honour his promise had irked the woman, provoking her into a campaign against the center officials.
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