BAHAWALPUR: Police on Friday arrested the investigating officer on charge of negligence in the investigation into an attempted rape case of a minor girl in the limits of the Musafirkhana Police Station, 20km from here.

The case against arrested Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Muhammad Hussain was registered on the complaint of DSP/SDPO Saddar Circle Muhammad Aslam Sabir.

According to Jam Sajid, the PRO of the DPO office, Musafirkhana police, on Aug 22, had registered a case under Section 376 of the PPC against a man who, in connivance with two of his accomplices, had attempted to rape a six-year-old girl. The suspects fled when the witnesses appeared to save the girl.

ASI Muhammad Hussain was the investigating officer in the case and he did not carry the medical examination of the victim.

According to the FIR written against the IO, he was directed to get the medical check-up of the minor girl done but he failed to do so.

The complainant DSP said in the FIR that by not complying with orders, ASI Hussain had tried to support the suspects and he was found guilty of a flawed investigation.

Earlier, on Thursday, Khairpur Tamewali police had arrested three police officials, including the SHO of the police station, for failing to discharge their duties and register a case of a rape bid against an 18-year-old girl in Chailniwali, which led to her alleged suicide.

Meanwhile, in her initial post-mortem report of the body of the deceased, who committed suicide on Thursday, Dr Sumera Maroof of THQ Hospital Khairpur Tamewali has yet to issue the final report.

The post-mortem on the deceased’s body was carried out on Thursday night at THQ Hospital.

Magistrate Syed Asad Farooq on Friday granted three-day physical remand for the suspect who had attempted to rape the deceased girl.

Published in Dawn, September 19th, 2020