KARACHI: A seven-year-old girl was subjected to a sexual assault in Orangi Town, police said on Tuesday.

SSP-West Dr Hafeezur Rehman Bugti said that the girl had left her home for playing outside at around 4pm on Monday. After one hour, she returned home crying and informed her parents about the incident.

Her family took her to the Pakistan Bazaar police station, where they lodged an FIR against an unknown suspect.

The police sent the victim to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, where doctors examined her and confirmed that she was subjected to a sexual assault, the SSP said.

He said that the condition of the girl was stable she was discharged from the hospital.

SSP-Investigation Arib Mahar said that the girl’s family lived in a katchi abadi.

He said CCTV footage from a nearby Rangers check post was also being obtained.

He said investigators found that a man, riding on a motorcycle, had taken away the girl to an unknown place and dropped her outside her home after raping her.

He opined that it indicated the possibility that the minor girl might be ‘familiar’ with the suspect.

The SSP said that the doctors at the hospital had taken DNA samples.

He was hopeful to trace the suspect and recalled that two years ago, the police identified a suspect in a case pertaining to the murder of an eight-year-old girl after rape in Malir with the help of DNA testing.

Meanwhile, Home Minister Zia Lanjar took notice of the rape and directed the SSP-West to submit a detailed report about the incident.

Published in Dawn, May 15th, 2024