LAHORE: A 19-year-old Karachi girl who was allegedly raped in the city has gone missing mysteriously, police claim, saying they are in a quandary as to how to proceed with a case taken notice of highest authorities in the province.

The girl was allegedly first raped in Factory Area and then in Defence Housing Authority by the same persons.

After the second instance, she was thrown unconscious in Township’s Quaid-i-Azam Industrial Area. She was spotted by locals and was removed to Jinnah Hospital by Rescue 1122 on May 17.

In the first incident, she had claimed that she was brought here from Malir, Karachi, by a woman on the pretext of facilitating a loan under the prime minister’s scheme. She was handed over to ‘Yu’ who allegedly raped her along with two others.

She went to the Factory Area police saying she had managed to flee from the custody of ‘Yu’. A case was registered but the suspects were granted bail as the girl did not pursue the case.

In the second incident, she told police that she was abducted from a bus terminal near Kalma Chowk from where she wanted to go to Gujranwala.

She was abducted by five men, including two in police uniform, who raped her in an under-construction house in Defence. They later threw her in the industrial area.

The second FIR was registered when she was admitted to Jinnah Hospital. After her recovery, the police sent her to Darul Aman, Nawankot.

Police say since the girl has escaped from Darul Aman, they are unable to carry on investigation. They say the suspects are being interrogated but the complainant’s presence is important for making a case against them.

A senior police official claimed on Saturday that investigation police had approached the girl at her address in Karachi but it was found fake.

The investigation official claimed that he always found the mobile phone of the girl powered off. He said police were trying to locate a man who had taken the girl from Darul Aman. He said the police had already obtained his national identity card.

He claimed the girl had refused the medical examination in the second incident.

“Things will move forward only after we are able to locate her,” he said.

Published in Dawn, June 8th, 2014