DERA GHAZI KHAN, June 10: Three men of the border military police (BMP), who have been accused of sexually assaulting five girls from Lahore and Bahawalpur in the hill resort of Fort Munro, surrendered to the BMP commandant on Sunday after negotiations between administration and tribal elders who were earlier reluctant to hand them over.

Five people, including the three BMP employees, had allegedly assaulted the girls at a border military police station in Fort Munro hill resort on Thursday night.

The girls, along with their local relative Asif Imran, were on a recreation visit.

Soon after the incident, the BMP employees forced the girls and their relative to sign a statement of reconciliation.

Asif Imran, who lives in Dera Ghazi Khan, lodged a complaint about the incident with BMP Commandant Tariq Ali Basra.

After preliminary investigation, the commandant got a case registered against the five accused, but the BMP employees refused to surrender.

But negotiations with tribal elders of Fort Munro led to the surrender of the BMP employees, Amjad, Zafar and Naveed.

One Majeed and another unidentified accused are at large.

The Punjab home secretary and additional IGP special branch met the girls on Sunday and recorded their statements.

The home secretary appointed the BMP commandant as inquiry officer. He will be assisted by two senior jamadars.

The district coordination officer said the administration faced difficulties in determining the identity of the girls because they did not have the CNIC and urged the media to help them in this regard.

Adviser to the Punjab chief minister on women affairs Begum Zakia Shah Nawaz met the girls and assured them that they would get justice.