Sanghar police on Saturday said that investigators were probing the alleged rape of a teenage girl in Shahdadpur but so far it was not substantiated that she was kidnapped or lured over the pretext of providing her ration for being a flood victim.

The girl belonging to flood-hit Shahdadpur was allegedly raped recently, which prompted higher authorities to take notice when the story of the incident went viral on social media and attracted the attention of Sindh lawmakers as well.

“The case is being investigated after registration of the FIR (first information report) and arrest of the suspect,” said Sanghar Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Dr Farrukh Ali Lanjar.

During the initial investigation, it transpired that “the victim and the suspect had known each other for some time”, added the district police chief.

SSP Lanjar said it was “not true” that the girl was kidnapped or lured by the suspect(s). “The narration of being lured for providing ration has not been substantiated,” observed the Sanghar police head, adding that the matter was being probed further.

A statement from the police spokesperson had earlier said the suspect, G*, was arrested, the medico-legal examination of the girl was carried out and the FIR was registered.

The FIR was registered at Shahdadpur police station on September 1 by the girl herself under Sections 34 (Common intention), 337-J (Causing hurt by mean of a poison) and 376 (Punishment for rape) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

The FIR said that the girl aged around 15-16 years left her home on August 28 to purchase vegetables when two people travelling in a rickshaw told her that ration was being distributed in their area for flood victims and they could give it to her, provided she accompany them.

The girl said she was “familiar” with the two as they drove rickshaws in the city. She added that they took her to a place where they gave her tranquilisers or poison and subjected her to criminal assault.

The FIR added that they later threw her on a street from where citizens took her to a hospital and informed her relatives. She said that her mother, brother and other relatives arrived at the hospital and she narrated the whole story and its facts to them.