A polio worker in Jacobabad testified before a court on Friday that she was raped while on duty, as her medical reports also suggested that the crime might have taken place.

According to Jacobabad Deputy Commissioner Zahoor Murri, the polio worker was allegedly raped on Wednesday in the Allah Baksh Jakhrani village, within the limits of Moladad police station. The DC added that the police arrived at the scene of the incident and transferred the victim to James Hospital under tight security, where her medicolegal examination was conducted.

A day after the incident, the polio worker made a statement to the media, claiming she was robbed of her phone and valuable belongings, dismissing allegations of sexual assault.

She said that when she was returning home after administering polio drops to children at the last house on her list, a man robbed her of her mobile phone and money at gunpoint and escaped. “I was so traumatised and my heart was beating so fast that my team leader immediately took me to Jacobabad Institute of Medical Science,” she had said.

On Friday, Jacobabad District and Sessions Judge Syed Sharafuddin Shah presided over a hearing of her case. During the proceedings, the victim retracted her previous statement and testified that she was sexually assaulted at gunpoint three days ago in Allah Bakhsh Jakhrani village.

After recording her statement, she appealed to the judge to allow her to go to her parents’ home, whereupon the court ordered the police to escort her there.

District Health Officer (DHO) Dr Irshad Sarki submitted his report related to the incident before the court, which also suggested that the polio worker “might have been sexually assaulted”.

On the other hand, the court rejected the police report submitted by the station house officer (SHO) at Mauladad police station, saying the report was incomplete. The judge ordered local police to submit a complete report by the next hearing, which was set for September 23.

The court ordered Jacobabad’s senior superintendent of police (SSP) to constitute a joint investigating team (JIT) and conduct a “fair and transparent inquiry into the matter and submit the report to the court “on [the] basis of ocular and medical evidence”.

Additionally, the DHO was ordered to submit five years’ worth of records for the polio worker before the court adjourned until the next hearing on September 23.

After the hearing, advocates including Zubeda Jakhrani, Zahid Hussain Soomro, and others spoke with journalists outside the court and said that it was “good that the district and sessions judge had taken a suo motu notice after this incident”.

However, they alleged that the police wanted to “spoil the case as they had submitted an incomplete report before the court”.

The lawyers also made allegations that the polio worker had been pressured to give a different statement while in police custody, adding that after the incident, the initial statements of the Deputy Commissioner, SSP, and DHO did not match up.

Moreover, the lawyers alleged that influential people wanted to protect the suspect as he belonged to the Jakhrani clan. They said that a team of advocates was standing by the victim “until justice is administered” in this case.

DC Murri and SSP Jacobabad Sumair Noor Channa held a press conference at the DC office, where Murri said that the victim was sexually assaulted. However, she could not give her statement as she was traumatised by the incident.

“We kept her in a safe house after the incident so that she could feel safe under district administration custody,” he said.

The DC added that the victim testified in court that she was sexually assaulted, adding she initially gave a different statement “due to our society’s attitude toward such victims”.

SSP Channa said that the victim was immediately shifted to the hospital after the incident where samples were taken for DNA testing. He added that police would include a sexual assault section in the first information report (FIR), as the victim had now testified in court that she had been sexually assaulted.

The SSP said that the police had already arrested the suspect and detained him at the local police station. He confirmed that a JIT had been formed on the court’s order, adding that the city’s deputy superintendent of police (DSP) would head it.

‘Protest for justice’

Protesting the incident, a large number of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) supporters participated in a rally that marched along various roads and concluded at the local press club.

JUI-F District President AG Ansari and other party members said that the polio worker was sexually assaulted at gunpoint, but alleged that the district administration wanted to cover it up.

The demonstrators demanded the formation of a judiciary committee for a fair and transparent inquiry and called for justice for the victim. They warned that if justice was not served, they would escalate their protest.

Meanwhile, the Sindh Dost Committee convened a meeting at the Pakistan People’s Party Shaheed Bhutto office, where Hussain Chhalgari, Mohammad Alam Khoso, Nadeem Qureshi, Councilor Khalid Khan Jhalan and others were in attendance.

The participants demanded that the suspect should be severely punished and justice should be provided to the victim, otherwise, they would stage a “strong protest”.