BAHAWALNAGAR: The Minchinabad Police have been allegedly ignoring court orders in a minor’s rape case even after a court ordered to register FIRs against four SHOs concerned and prohibiting the case investigating officer (IO) from any public role on account of the misconduct.

As per details, a cleric was arrested on July 13 for sexually assaulting his 14-year-old student over a two-year period and impregnated her.

During a court hearing on July 14, IO Shehnaz Akhtar in her report stated that the victim studied and worked as a domestic help inside the seminary. The court ordered a 13-day remand for the accused with a follow-up on July 17.

On July 16, the victim’s father filed an application to the court alleging that the accused’s influential family had pressured the victim’s mother, the complainant in the case, into a settlement involving Rs1.05 million for her and case witnesses with police complicity.

Also ignores court’s letter directing DPO to file FIRs against all SHOs of the circle

The application sought an independent adviser for the minor’s rights and raised safety concerns. It also requested the victim’s custody or send her to the Child Protection Bureau, while the court ordered the girl to be moved to the child bureau.

On July 17, the court issued a show-cause notice to the IO and proceedings were postponed as she did not appear before the court.

Even on July 21, no police official appeared, leading to a new hearing scheduled for July 27, where the court demanded the victim’s presence and relevant records. However, the IO defied this order as well and took the victim to a different district court in Pakpattan to record her statement.

In response, Magistrate Muhammad Qasim Rasool termed the police’s actions insulting and delinquent in two letters to the DPO Office on July 27, copies of which are available with Dawn. He ordered an inquiry against the IO and prohibited her from public interest assignments.

The court directed the DPO to file FIRs against all SHOs of the circle. However, despite the passage of 11 days, there has been no apparent action taken on the court orders.

In this regard, Advocate Khalid Shahid, representing the victim’s father, criticised the deputy commissioner’s office for neglecting the case.

He highlighted that as per the Anti-Rape Act, anti-rape crisis cells (ARCC) were to protect children’s rights, overseen by local DCs or commissioners alongside medical and police staff.

Advocate Khalid pointed out that despite a court-marked application, no actions were taken by the cell. When contacted, Bahawalnagar DC Syed Muhammad Abbas Shah and DPO Muhammad Imran did not respond to requests for comments.

However, DPO’s spokesperson Zahid Rasool, while refuting bribery allegations, claimed that the court had rescinded its directions of registering FIRs against the SHOs. He stated that the IO was removed and an inquiry was initiated against her. He claimed that a medical examination was not undertaken based on the written request of the victim’s mother.

Meanwhile, the Minchinabad DSP said that despite the confession, the accused had to be released since the victim spoke in the court in his defence.

In response to the police’s account, Advocate Khalid asserted that the police were not legally obligated to obtain consent for a medical check-up in cases involving minors.

Meanwhile, court sources denied the police claims and said that the court had not withdrawn any of its directions.

Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2026