DADU: A teenage daughter of a peasant reported to police on Sunday that an influential person and his four associates subjected her to gang-rape and also videotaped her during the ordeal four days ago in Daud Kandhro village, 90 kilometres from here.

The 13-year-old victim arrived at Thrari Mohabbat police station along with her parents and complained that the five suspects kidnapped her when she was crossing a street and took her to a secluded house where they gang-raped her.

She said that they let her go after an hour after videotaping the entire episode and threatened that they would spread the video among villagers if she dared complain to anybody or go to police.

She remained at her home under tremendous stress and in a state of trauma for four days as her tormentors were keeping watch over her movements to stop her from reaching the police station. She found her chance to sneak past her them unnoticed on Sunday and hurried to the police station, she said.

Thrari Mohabbat SHO Akbar Khoso said that police sent the victim to Radhan basic health centre with a letter for medical checkup, and claimed to have detained the main suspect one of his other alleged associates. Police were conducting raids to arrest the remaining suspects, he said.

Dr Najamunnisa Shah who checked up the victim said she appeared confused and in a trauma. Though she was bleeding from her ruptured hymen, it was difficult to conclude from it whether she had been raped or not because she visited the hospital after four days, the doctor said.

She said that she had referred the victim to senior gynaecologist at Dadu Civil Hospital and advised ultrasound and other investigations to reach a definite conclusion.

The victim’s relatives led by her mother held a demonstration outside the press club in Thrari Mohabbat where the mother told journalists that the influential suspects were threatening her that they would kill her daughter and the entire family if they did not withdraw the complaint lodged against them.

She accused police of favouring the suspects and feared they would manipulate the case to allow the influential persons to get away with the crime. If she did not get justice, she would commit suicide in front of the police station, she warned.

She appealed to IGP A.D. Khowaja to take notice of the case and provide justice to her daughter.

Published in Dawn, January 22nd, 2018