PESHAWAR, March 20: The Peshawar High Court on Tuesday ordered an investigating officer to record additional statement of an alleged gang rape victim when it came to know that deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of around 12 suspects didn't match with that of an infant girl, born to the alleged victim.

A two-member bench comprising Chief Justice Dost Mohammad Khan and Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth directed SSP Attiqullah Wazir that the victim should be thoroughly interrogated through a woman police officer before recording her additional statement so that no innocent person should suffer.

The bench directed Mr Wazir, investigating officer in the case, that in the light of additional statement of the victim if need arose he should apply to the registrar of high court for further DNA tests of additional suspects with sample of that of the baby girl.

The victim told the court that during captivity of around a year she was sexually assaulted by several persons some of whom were not known to her but she could recognise them on appearance.

The bench fixed April 18 for next hearing of the case.

The court was hearing several issues attached to the alleged kidnapping and rape of the victim in Karak district including subsequent killing of her brother, protest demonstration against the judiciary allegedly organised by an accused police officer and taking away of the baby girl after she was born in a local hospital by the chairperson of Provincial Commission on the Status of Women, Zubaida Khatoon, and head of an NGO, Maimoona Noor, for several hours.

The DNA tests proved the victim as biological mother of the girl, therefore, the bench absolved Ms Noor and Ms Khatoon of the suspension that the infant might have been replaced when she was taken away for few hours.

The women had returned the infant after the issue surfaced in electronic media.

They claimed that the victim and her family had earlier asked a support group of civil society that they were not interested in keeping the baby.

The bench also exonerated and relieved the administration and staff of Hayatabad Medical Complex, earlier admonished by the court for negligence as the infant was taken away by the two women, who were not related to her.

The court unsealed the reports of DNA tests prepared by Dr S.A. Fazli, the director general of the relevant unit at Kahuta Research Laboratory.

The bench also absolved some notables of Karak, charged in the contempt of court case for staging demonstration against the judiciary as they put forward unconditional apology and placed themselves at the mercy of the court.

The court, however, kept the case of an accused police officer, charged with the rape of the victim as well as killing of her brother, pending observing that it would be decided at a later stage. The accused was produced before the court handcuffed.

The court also reprimanded a cleric, Maulana Irshad, for allegedly issuing statements against the victim charging her of committing qazf (false accusation of adultery).

The victim was allegedly kidnapped when a police party raided her residence on July 30, 2010. She could not be recovered for over a year and finally she managed to escape on Sept 19 following which she charged around 12 persons including some policemen for kidnapping and raping her. Her brother, Alamzeb, was killed outside a court at Takht Nusrati on Dec 9 allegedly by the brother of the accused police officer.