BAHAWALNAGAR: The parents of a 15-year-old mentally challenged girl, who was allegedly abducted and raped two and a half months ago in Minchinabad, have accused the district police of protecting the investigation officer despite orders of the regional police officer (RPO), Bahawalpur.

Labourer Muhammad Wazir, a resident of Mauza Massa Singh Kuna, told Dawn that a resident of Basti Dogarwala abducted his 15-year-old mentally challenged daughter from the fields on Nov 31, 2021. He said the suspect raped her several times and later threw her at the bridge of Sadiq Canal in the evening.

He said the Minchinabad police registered a case on Dec 1 but IO Shehnaz Akhtar neither arrested the suspect nor did she allow the DNA of the girl or the rapist to be conducted despite their repeated requests.

He alleged that the IO had been favouring the suspect from day one after receiving bribe and she took their thumb impressions on blank papers on Dec 16 on the pretext of initiating the process to arrest the suspect.

Wazir said that later the IO told them that she was going to discharge the case on the basis of documents of reconciliation they had signed a day ago. He said they contacted the DSP Minchinabad and filed a written complaint about the IO’s nexus with the alleged rapist but all in vain.

He said the RPO Bahawalpur marked his complaint to the DPO Bahawalnagar when he appeared before him in an open court held at Minchinabad on Jan 5. However, he said, no action had been taken despite the passage of 11 days.

The family demanded that the IGP take notice and hold a transparent departmental inquiry into the issue.

The IO told Dawn that the initial medical report confirmed the rape of the girl. She said the DNA test of the victim and the suspect could not be conducted because the complainant initiated the reconciliation process of his own free will and recorded a statement before the magistrate.

DPO Zaffar Buzdar or his spokesperson Shehzad Ishfaq were not available for comments.

Published in Dawn, January 17th, 2022