KARACHI, April 23: Unable to grasp the enormity of her ordeal, an eight-year-old girl (name withheld on request) tried to play with her cousins on Monday evening after being raped by an unknown person some time on Sunday evening.

The girl was found crying by a passer-by, Abid Ali, in C Area Qayumabad at around 12.30am on Sunday night. He took her to an Edhi Centre in Korangi, where staffers ascertained that she had been raped, said Landhi Town Police Officer Shad Ibne Masih.

The girl was taken to the emergency ward of the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre by Edhi staffers, where she was given initial treatment and was then referred to the National Institute of Child Health. She was subsequently shifted to the gynaecology ward of the JPMC for the injury of “vaginal tear,” said Dr Abdul Razzak, who was then on duty at the medico-legal section.

A proper medico-legal examination was carried out on Monday morning by a woman medico-legal officer.

“The girl had marks of bruises on her body and it was clear that she was subjected to a sexual assault,” said Dr Nasreen Qamar.

The girl’s family came to the hospital on Monday evening after learning about her whereabouts through their neighbour, who is a JPMC employee.

“I don’t know his name but he recently shifted to our neighbourhood in Moosa Colony. He knew that my niece had gone missing on Sunday evening. He informed us that a girl of the same age was brought to the JPMC with injuries,” Rais Ahmed, the girl’s maternal uncle, told Dawn.

Following her disappearance, the girl’s brother, Farooq, had lodged a missing persons report with the Gulberg police station.

“She is unable to say how she ended up in Korangi, but she can recall that a man had lured her into accompanying him by offering her candies,” Mr Ahmed said, adding that in the past she had also wandered off with her playmates.

However, the Landhi TPO, DSP Shad, told Dawn that according to the victim’s initial statement, it was her father’s friend, Shahbaz, who had taken her to a place where other children were present. The man had slapped her across the face, the TPO quoted the rape victim as saying.

“Since the actual place of offence is not clear yet, the FIR pertaining to rape is likely to be registered at the Gulberg police station,” the TPO Landhi said.

However, a senior police official of Gulberg Town said that the victim’s family was reluctant to lodge the FIR pertaining to rape, saying that nothing of the sort could have happened to her.

He said that a final report of the medico-legal officer had not yet been issued, but she had verbally confirmed that a sexual assault had taken place.