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PESHAWAR, March 7: Police have raided hideouts of four people allegedly involved in kidnapping and sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy, but have failed to arrest anyone. They, however, impounded two vehicles of the alleged rapists on Sunday.
The boy, Asmatullah, a resident of Dir, told Gulbahar police that he had been working with the Nadeem Coach, Peshawar, as a cleaner for the last 18 months. Two days ago his employer, Nadeem, along with Salim, Sur and Mikir, came to the General Bus Stand and drove him towards Shabqadar on the pretext of going on a recreational trip.
After reaching Shabqadar, he alleged, they took him to a hujra (village guest house) and sexually abused him. "When it came to the knowledge of a local leader of a religious party, he tried to get hold of the culprits, but they escaped," the boy told the police.
He said that the religious leader later brought him to a hospital in Peshawar. Sources said the accused had tried to bribe the boy to stop him from registering a case against them. They offered him Rs20,000, but the police had registered a case under Section 377 of the Pakistan Penal Code and 12 Zina Ordinance against them.
Police had conducted raids on the bus stand and some places in Shabqadar to arrest the alleged rapists, but failed. Asmatullah told police that his mother had died four years ago, whereas his father was a poor person.
OPIUM SEIZED: The anti-smuggling wing of Pakistan Customs recovered 600 kgs of hashish and 30 kgs of fine quality opium from a vehicle with a fake number plate, and arrested the driver who was wearing a military uniform, near the Kund checkpost some 90 kms southeast of here.
According to the official handout issued here on Sunday, the vehicle was heading for Rawal-pindi, and when it drove past the checkpost, customs staff ordered it to stop. But the driver didn't stop and drove on, while some of the people inside the vehicle fired on customs staff.
The customs' mobile squad followed them and fired on the tyres of the vehicle, deflating it, after which the smugglers abandoned the vehicle and disappeared, except the driver in a military uniform.
Customs staff impounded the vehicle and on searching it they found fine quality hashish in it. The driver was identified as Azmat Khan son of Nazir Khan, a resident of Karachi. He told customs that one of the smugglers was attired in a brigadier's uniform. Some more military uniforms were recovered from the vehicle.
