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MULTAN, July 4: The IG Punjab will appear before the Supreme Court on Friday to apprise the court of the action taken against the culprits involved in the gang-rape of a woman last month.
The apex court has taken a suo motu notice of the Meerwala incident under the court’s human rights jurisdiction. The court also summoned the advocate-general, DIG Multan range, district police officer Muzaffargarh and the area SHO.
NO ARREST: Meanwhile, the Muzaffargarh police have still been unable to arrest the main culprits involved in the gang-rape, as all their efforts proved futile even on Thursday.
All the four police teams formed to nab culprits conducted random raids but met with no success. Whenever contacted, the staff at the Jatoi police station said the raiding teams had not returned as yet.
Jatoi sub-divisional police officer Saeed Awan, who was given a 24-hour deadline by the authorities for the arrest of the culprits on Wednesday, could not be contacted, as, according to his subordinates, “Sahib is busy in conducting raids for the arrest of culprits.”
Efforts to contact other police officers also proved futile. The telephone operator at the residence of Muzaffargarh district police officer told this correspondent that the DPO had been summoned by the ‘high-ups’ in Lahore.
Sources said the mother and sister of one of the rapists Khalid were still in police custody.
The woman medical officer of the Rural Health Centre, Jatoi, conducted the medical examination of daughter of Imam Bukhsh, with whom Shakoor, the brother of gang-rape victim, allegedly had illicit relations and submitted her report to the authorities.
MINISTER’s VISIT: Federal Minister for Women Division and Social Welfare Dr Attiya Inayatullah visited the gang-rape victim at Muzaffargarh DPO’s office on Thursday. She assured her of full support of the government to get justice. The federal minister handed her over a cheque for Rs500,000 from the president and the first lady.
Later, speaking at a press conference, she termed the Meerwala incident the ‘worst kind of terrorism’.
She said Panchayats had no official authority to implement such inhuman and irrational verdicts.
Provincial social welfare minister Shaheen Attiqur Rehman was also accompanying Dr Inayatullah in the press conference. She was there on the direction of Punjab governor along with the governors’ inspection team which was on a fact-finding mission of the village on Thursday.
