MULTAN, Sept 30: Muzaffargarh police have declared innocent the accused involved in the stripping case of a 12-year-old girl in Sheher Sultan, Muzaffargarh district.

DPO Muhammad Tahir Ray claimed that the girl’s family, to secure themselves from the case registered against them by the accused party, fabricated the story of Momina Mai’s stripping.

The DPO said that SP (Investigation) Muhammad Zubair Dreshak himself visited the place of occurrence of the `crime’ and found the charge against the accused groundless after a thorough probe.

About the delay in discharging of the case against the accused if they were innocent, the DPO said it would discharge automatically in due course of time.

He further claimed that the police knew from the day first about the facts of the case that prevented them from arresting the accused. He said the police had lodged the case against the `accused’ only to satisfy the people.

Meanwhile, Abdul Majeed advocate, who is pleading the Momina Mai’s case, said that the police were supporting the accused party and were trying to scrap the FIR as the accused enjoyed the political influence.

He further alleged that the police were also threatening him and asking him to play his role for the settlement between the two parties.

Mureed Husain, the brother of Momina Mai, filed a petition in a Muzaffargarh court against the police for not arresting the accused.

Momina’s another brother Tariq, already on bail, also moved the same court for the recovery of his wife Mehnaz Mai from the custody of his in-laws. In his petition, Tariq further claimed that he had contracted marriage with Mehnaz Mai in Ahmedpur Sharqia on Feb 2, 2006.

Momina Mai was alone in her house when Nasreen, the daughter of Hazoor Bakhsh, allegedly called her from the other side of the adjoining wall and caught hold of her when she came there. In the meantime, Sajjad Hussain and Muhammad Ajmal, who were armed with weapons, caught the girl and dragged her to their house where Niaz Ahmed and Allah Ditta apprehended her and took her to a room. Later, they ripped to shreds her clothes and finally stripped her naked.

On her hue and cry, villagers and girl’s two brothers Ghulam Nazuk and Mureed Hussain rushed to the place for her help, but the accused started thrashing her brothers.

The accused kept the girl undressed for almost two hours and left the girl on the request of an elderly woman, Kaneez Fatima.