TOB TEK SINGH: Faisalabad police claim to have recovered a Sikh woman and her minor son, who had allegedly been kept in illegal confinement by two brothers in their house in D-Type Colony at Faisalabad for the last nine months, while the woman was also repeatedly raped by the suspects during that period.

Punjab Minister for Minority Affairs Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora, along with Faisalabad City Police Officer Kamran Adil, told a press conference held at the Police Lines, Faisalabad, on Thursday that the woman ‘MK’ (40), a mother of five, met the suspect, ‘KS’ of Faisalabad’s Suhailabad locality six years ago at the house of her friend at Nankana Sahib.

The police said that in December 2023, ‘MK’ asked the suspect to drop her minor son at her sister’s house at Faisalabad.

However, instead of handing over the child to MK’s sister, the suspect allegedly took the child hostage to “blackmail” her.

Police say victim was also raped and tortured by suspects

When ‘MK’ visited ‘KS’ to get back her son, the suspect allegedly also made her hostage and kept the mother and her minor son in illegal confinement for nine months.

During this period, the suspect and his brother also allegedly raped the woman repeatedly and subjected her to torture, the police said.

After the victim’s family brought the matter to the notice of the Faisalabad CPO, he formed a team headed by SSP (investigation) Abdul Wahab and consisting of Gender Based Violence Unit in charge ASP Zainab Khalid, to recover the woman and the child.

The police said the police team conducted a raid on the suspects’ house and recovered the mother and her son on Aug 14.

The minister praised the police’s role in recovery of the woman and her son and assured that justice would be served and a legal action would be taken against the suspects.

Mr Arora said that negative propaganda is often made through hired bloggers regarding minority rights in Pakistan, whereas the Constitution provides all rights to minorities, and the Punjab government is committed to safeguarding these rights.

Commending the role of the media, he said that the media always lends support to religious minorities in the country.

Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2024