KARACHI: The three schoolgirls recovered on Sunday from a house in Liaquatabad in a joint raid by Anti-Violent Crime Cell (AVCC) of police and the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee had been suffering from domestic violence, said CIA DIG Dr Jamil Ahmed on Monday.

One of the girls told the police that her parents did not trust her and gave her a beating whenever she received SMS from boys, said the DIG while speaking at a press conference.

Flanked by CPLC chief Zubair Habib and AVCC SSP Tariq Dharejo, the CIA chief said they had been a victim of undesirable behaviour of their parents.

He said another girl told the police her parents often quarrelled with each other and her mother used to subject her to mental torture. The third girl complained that she hated her father as he had married another woman yet her real mother wanted her to live with him, he told the media.

The CIA chief advised all parents to treat children with love and kindness instead of subjecting them to mental or physical torture. He said the recovered girls were shifted to Darul Aman on a court directive.Giving details of the Friday episode, he said instead of going to school, the girls ran away from their homes in Saudabad. “They attempted to travel to Balochistan via Hub River Road but returned half way from Mowach Goth fearing street harassment,” he said.

He added that the girls then decided to reach the Karachi Cantt railway station but they didn’t find any train to board. Someone there suggested the girls to rent a room in a hotel near the Jinnah hospital. They told the police that they travelled to the hospital, where a patient’s attendant, identified as Aijaz, gave them his mobile phone number on a chit and left. One of the girls approached him on his cell phone and the man assured them of his cooperation while asking them to accompany him. Meanwhile, he said, Aijaz called his friend, Danish and they both took the girls to the latter’s home in Liaquatabad-10. Danish told the girls that they should stay at his home and should not fear anything. The police with the help of modern technology traced the girls and apprehended Aijaz from Baldia Town, while efforts were under way to arrest Danish, DIG Ahmed told the media.

The officer quoted the girls as telling the police investigators that they remained safe from any kind of harassment during their stay there.

Published in Dawn October 18th, 2016