MUZAFFARGARH: A 16-year-old girl who became pregnant after being raped by her maternal uncle and a cousin in Jatoi tehsil of Muzaffargarh allegedly died by suicide.

The police claimed to have arrested both suspects.

Muhammad Ajmal said in his complaint to Mirhazar police that on the night of April 12, he was woken up by his family members and told that his younger daughter, Rehana Bibi, ended her life by hanging herself in a room of his house.

Ajmal also told the police that a day before taking the extreme step, Rehana had told her elder sister that she was raped by her maternal uncle and a cousin a couple of months back and she became pregnant. She also hinted at ending her life for fear of “disrespect” among her relatives, he added.

Bet Mir Hazar Khan SHO shifted the girl’s body to the hospital for a postmortem examination, after a team of the Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA) collected evidence from the scene.

Taking notice of the incident, District Police Officer (DPO) Dr Mohammed Rizwan ordered the immediate arrest of both suspects.

On the DPO’s direction, the police arrested the suspects and registered a murder case against them.

Further investigations are underway.

SMUGGLED CIGARETTES: Layyah district police claimed to have seized non-custom-paid cigarettes worth around Rs10 million in four raids during the last 30 days.

According to police, the latest raid was conducted by Karor Lal Eesan police led by SHO Abid Ali and CIA in charge Muhammad Nadeem, recovering foreign smuggled cigarettes worth Rs5.5m packed in 90 cartons.

The police said that criminals were trying to smuggle non-custom-paid cigarettes through a route along the river belt when the police intercepted and arrested them.

The seized cigarettes and the suspects will be handed over to the Customs Department for further legal action.

Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2025