RAHIM YAR KHAN: The woman who alleges she was gang-raped by an MPA’s son and his two accomplices on Oct 14 has failed to meet the district police officer (DPO) at his office on Oct 18 and 19.

The DPO staff says the top district police officer was not available at his office on those days.

The complainant, of Khanpur, says she was kidnapped by the MPA’s son and his two accomplices late on Friday from her house.

On Saturday, when she reported the matter to the Khanpur Sadar police, her case was not registered.

Sources say that more than 20 influential figures of the city, including representatives of local MNA and MPA, pressured the woman to withdraw charges against a Rs1 million compensation money.

As the complainant woman refused to accept the money and insisted on lodging the case, the amount was handed over to a negotiator, very close to the city MPA.

DPO Zeeshan Asghar did not attend the call while his Public Relations Officer Umer Salim said the DPO was out of city on Oct 19 and 20. He said the office had referred her to Legal Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Javed Iqbal Bajwa who marked her application to Khanpur DSP Jamshaid Shah. He said the DPO office would order a new inquiry whenever she visited them.

The complainant woman told Dawn by phone she had been offered money by the alleged rapists. Once she refused to accept it, they threatened her and her son with consequences if she pressed charges with police.

She said that on Saturday when she with her son was at the Sadar police station, a group of people took them to the Tariq Topi’s oil mills on Garhi Ikhtiar Khan Road where the MPA was present. The MPA forced her to sign a stamp paper that she had reached a compromise with the alleged rapists.

The ruling party PMA admitted he had met the woman at the mills “only to solve the important matter of the city”. He said that the woman had agreed to withdraw charges after dialogue and also signed the papers.

He said he wondered why the woman was still approaching police after an agreement.

(Because of the newspaper’s policy, the names of the complainant and gang rape suspects have been withheld.)

Published in Dawn, October 21st, 2016