Woman allegedly gang-raped on Karachi-bound train

Published May 30, 2022
A file photo of the Lahore Railway Station being almost deserted as the Karachi-bound Khyber Mail waits for clearance to continue its journey. — M Arif / White Star/File
A file photo of the Lahore Railway Station being almost deserted as the Karachi-bound Khyber Mail waits for clearance to continue its journey. — M Arif / White Star/File

A 25-year-old woman was allegedly gang-raped on a train heading to Karachi from Multan last week, it emerged on Monday.

The victim was on board the Bahaudin Zakaria Express when ticket-checkers and other staffers of a private firm subjected her to sexual assault on Friday (May 27), the spokesperson of the Pakistan Railways said in a statement.

A first information report (FIR) has been registered on the complaint of the victim at the Railways Police Station under Sections 377 [punishment for rape] and 34 [common intent] of the Pakistan Penal Code.

According to the FIR, the woman was travelling in an economy class berth when the ticket-checker offered her a seat in the air-conditioned compartment of the train.

Shortly afterwards, he took her to the other compartment where the train staffers took turns to sexually assault the woman and threatened her with dire consequences when she tried to escape.

The women disembarked from the train after reaching Karachi and reported the ordeal to the railways' police, who registered the case and constituted teams to arrest the suspects.

The law enforcers managed to arrest all three suspects today.

Additional police surgeon Summaiya Syed at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre said the victim's medical examination confirmed that she was gang-raped.

Dr Syed said the victim's clothes had been taken into custody, while swab samples were taken for semen serology, DNA profiling and cross-matching.

“We need to know the time of arrival of the train in Karachi as Rohri is located between Multan and Karachi and it will give us an approximate time of the incident,” said Dr Syed.

City Railways Station SHO Asad Unar declined to speak on the incident. However, according to the railways' police spokesperson, Inspector General of Railways Police Faisal Shahkar took notice of the incident.

Opinion

Editorial

Massacre again
Updated 01 Oct, 2023

Massacre again

If this monster is not vanquished at this stage, it will create a security nightmare of significant proportions.
A refuge no longer
01 Oct, 2023

A refuge no longer

SEPTEMBER has seen an alarming rise in the rounding up and detention of Afghan refugees. Pakistani authorities cite...
Whither justice?
01 Oct, 2023

Whither justice?

THE challenge is to ensure bestial tragedies are remembered. Two cases of femicide, involving men from Pakistan’s...
Moving forward
Updated 29 Sep, 2023

Moving forward

It is hoped that the ECP followed the set rules diligently while demarcating constituency boundaries.
Pipeline in stasis
Updated 30 Sep, 2023

Pipeline in stasis

If finding dollars to fund the scheme is difficult, alternative currencies can be used.
Playing in India
Updated 29 Sep, 2023

Playing in India

WITH visa issues resolved, and after slight alterations in travel plans, Pakistan’s cricket team finally touched...