SUKKUR: The district and sessions court on Wednesday granted bail to teenage female tutor, who along with her three brothers, were arrested in connection with alleged sexual assault on a five-year-old girl on July 30.

The girl was released from the Sukkur women’s jail in the evening while her brothers were still in central jail and might be released on Thursday.

The judge decided to award the bail after hearing a panel of lawyers headed by senior advocate Shafqat Rahim Qayyum Qureshi who produced facts before the court, convincing it to release his clients on bail.

The young tutor’s family had stated at a press conference at the Sukkur Press Club on Monday that Sukkur and Rohri police had lodged the FIR against them without conducting proper inquiry and having the victim examined.

They raised questions as to why the two young boys, who had come with the alleged victim’s father to their tuition centre and introduced themselves as the girl’s cousins, were not made part of the investigation.

They alleged that some influential media persons had pressured police to register the fake FIR against them and have all members arrested.

Sources told this reporter that some influential persons had pressurised the police, especially SHO of Rohri police station to lodge the FIR against the young tutor, her elder sister and three brothers. However, police later let her elder sister go on personal surety, said the sources.

The SHO had tried in vain to make the alleged victim’s family understand that such FIR could not be registered as it was totally against legal procedure but the police official gave in to the pressure and went ahead with the FIR anyway, said the sources.

CCTV footage contradicts father’s claims

Two days after registration of the case, a large media team and area people minutely watched footage from CCTV cameras installed in the area which showed the alleged victim going back home along with her father and two cousins at 6:40pm from the tuition centre, and the girl could be seen climbing staircase to her home without any visible signs of distress.

The footage later showed the father coming out of his home holding the girl in his arms after an hour, said the sources.

In the light of new disclosures thought the CCTV cameras’ footage, police started afresh investigation of the case from different angles, and also included alleged the victim’s two cousins and other family members in the probe.

Local media persons talked to residents of the locality about the young tutor’s family and none of them talked ill of them. They said the family was educated and very well reputed and that two sisters had been running tuition centre at their home since their father passed away.

The victim’s medical report

An initial medical report released by a government laboratory in Rohri found bruises on the five-year-old girl’s private parts and signs of insertion.

Police officials said that they had sent the victim’s samples to the laboratory for DNA testing and had not yet taken samples of the suspects.

Published in Dawn, August 8th, 2024