NAROWAL: A young woman was allegedly abducted, drugged and gang-raped by some influential men, who during her three-day long illegal detention, also subjected her to brutal physical torture.

The 20-year-old victim, daughter of a labourer of Sadhwan village, flanked by her family members, told a press conference on Thursday that she ran a beauty parlour at Siraj Bus Stop on Muridke Road to support her family.

She said that on Nov 21, 2020, she was at the beauty parlour when two men abducted her at gunpoint. She said her abductors, after bundling her into a waiting car, forced her to drink juice after which she fell unconscious.

On regaining consciousness, she said she found her self tied to a chair in a deserted warehouse. She said the two abductors, who were later joined by three other men, were taking orders from someone on the phone. They injected her with some drugs that left her semi-conscious and repeatedly raped her, she alleged.

Alleges police colluding with influential suspects

She alleged one of the suspects also inflicted cuts on various parts of her body with a blade and subjected her to brutal sexual torture.

“When I would request them to give me water to drink, they would make me drink liquor,” she said with tears in her eyes. She said her three-day long ordeal ended when the suspects drugged her and fled away after dropping her at Muridke Chowk.

“When I regained consciousness, I returned to my home at Sadhwan village,” she said.

“I am illiterate, but I approached Nadoke police station and got registered a case against the suspects. However, none of them could be arrested so far,” the woman said as her voice broke.

She alleged the police were colluding with the suspects who were influential in the area.

She also alleged that the investigating officer pressurised her to reconcile with the suspects and even slapped her when she refused.

“The IO also offered me Rs200,000 for withdrawing the case,” she said.

The mother of the complainant, Razia Bibi, said the influential suspects had been hurling life threats at the family for pursuing the case.

She alleged the police had received a huge bribe from the suspects and were not arresting them.

Muhammad Arif, a cousin of the woman, said the suspects threatened the family that they would upload the footage of the gang-rape on social media if they did not stop pursuing the case.

The family appealed to Prime Minister Imran Khan and Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar to take notice of the incident and provide justice to the victim, who warned she would commit self-immolation if her rapists go escot-free.

(Names of the complainant, suspects withheld as per newspaper’s policy)

Published in Dawn, January 15th, 2021