MANDI BAHAUDDIN: Punjab Police on Sunday registered a first information report (FIR) after a 15-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted in a hospital near the district’s King Chowk, officials said.

Per officials, the incident allegedly occurred in a private hospital when the victim went there to collect medicines. She was reportedly taken to a room in the facility.

The Civil Lines Police Station registered an FIR on the complaint of the victim’s mother against three individuals under Sections 376(3) (punishment for rape of a minor) and 114 (abetment) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

One of the suspects was named in the FIR, while the other two had been listed as unidentified individuals, officials said.

The FIR stated that the victim went to the hospital with her aunt and uncle. “She excused herself to go to the toilet, but when she didn’t return for a long time, her aunt grew concerned,” the mother stated in the FIR.

“The aunt and uncle went to look for the girl and heard someone crying in a room. Upon opening the door, they witnessed the suspect assaulting the girl. The suspect fled upon seeing them,” it added.

The FIR further said that the unidentified armed suspects, who stood guard at the entrance of the hospitals with weapons, also fled with the named suspect in a vehicle.

Inspector Sohail Aslam, in charge of the Special Sexual Offences Investigation Unit (SSIOU), also confirmed the assault, based on the preliminary medical report of the victim.

“Raids are being conducted to apprehend the fleeing suspects, and efforts to identify the other two individuals are ongoing,” he added.

Inspector Aslam also said that all three suspects would be arrested soon.

According to a report by Sahil, a non-governmental organisation working for children’s rights, in 2024, as many as 3,364 child abuse cases were reported from all four provinces of the country.

Of the total, 1828 cases were related to child sexual abuse, with both genders equally victimised. The geographical-divide statistics showed that out of the total reported cases, 78pc cases were reported from Punjab, 12pc from Sindh, 4pc from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 4pc from Islamabad and 2pc cases from Balochistan, AJK, and GB.