Police on Thursday said they had arrested suspects for allegedly raping a deaf-mute and mentally disabled girl in Punjab’s Muzaffargarh district.

Muzaffargarh police spokesperson Wasim Khan Gopang told Dawn.com that the incident occurred in the Rohilanwali area on Aug 4.

“Two suspects had been arrested within 24 hours of the incident.”

He said the 17-year-old girl was in the fields when one of the suspects allegedly caught her and raped her. “The suspect fled when locals reached the spot after hearing the girl’s voice,” he added.

In a first information report (FIR) dated Aug 6, seen by Dawn.com, the victim’s brother said that his sister was born deaf-mute and mentally disabled.

He said, “She went out of the house to relieve herself in the fields on Aug 4 around 05:30pm.”

The complainant detailed that the suspect, who was standing near the field, “forcibly grabbed the victim and raped her under a tree.”

The FIR named two passersby who heard the victim’s voice and caught the suspect raping her. “Upon seeing the men, the suspect ran away. Subsequently, the witnesses chased him for a long time, but he managed to escape,” it added.

The complainant said he, the victim’s father, and the witnesses went to the suspect’s father — who was also booked in the case as a co-accused.

“The suspect’s father started cursing and threatening me due to a previous fight and an ongoing land dispute,” the complainant said, adding, “I believe the suspect raped the girl on his father’s instructions.”

A case was registered at the Rohilanwali police station under Sections 109 (punishment for abetment) and 376 (iii) (punishment for rape of a minor) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Despite the presence of anti-rape laws — with punishment for rape either resulting in the death penalty or imprisonment of between 10 and 25 years — cases continue to prevail in the country.

A madrassah teacher in Muzaffargarh was arrested for allegedly raping an 11-year-old student at a seminary in May.

In April, a 17-year-old girl died by suicide after she was allegedly raped and impregnated in Muzaffargarh.

The same month, police arrested five suspects for their alleged involvement in the gang rape of a child in Muzaffargarh.