Staff Reporter
The Sheikhupura police on Friday claimed to have made headway in Komal Masih gang-rape case and arrested three suspects from Faisalabad.
DPO Ghulam Mubashir Mekan told the media that the accused had separated the girl from her family and raped her on December 28 while returning from a wedding. He pledged that measures will continue to be taken on a priority basis to prevent gender crimes and bring the accused to book.
DPO Ghulam Mubashir Mekan was addressing a press conference along with Punjab Minister HR&MA Ijaz Alam Augustine, PDMA Minister Mian Khalid Mahmood and Chairperson Women Protection Fatima Chadhar. He said the police have arrested three brothers for raping the girl in front of her family.
The DPO informed the media that the suspects were already wanted in 41 cases, including robbery, murder, and rape. The two elder brothers of the suspects are already in prison on murder charges, he said.
The suspects were identified by the rape survivor during an identification parade, the DPO said, adding that their DNA was found at the crime scene.
The survivor was gang-raped by the three men in Fatehpur village. They intercepted a rickshaw in which a family was returning to their home after attending a wedding.
The suspects tied up the father, mother, brother, and a cousin of the survivor, according to the police. They took the two sisters to nearby bushes and gang-raped one of them.
A case was registered. Samples were collected from the survivor and sent to a laboratory for DNA analysis.
President Arif Alvi approved on December 15 the Anti-Rape Ordinance, 2020 that seeks to address the loopholes in Pakistan’s rape laws and expedite rape cases in the country
Under the ordinance, special courts that deal with rape cases will be set up across the country to speed up the justice process for women and children victims of sexual abuse. They will be directed to complete investigations within four months, said the president’s official Twitter account.
The prime minister has been tasked with setting up anti-rape crisis cells across the country. The cells will be authorised to conduct a medico-legal examination of victims within six hours. The new law also forbids revealing the identity of rape victims and makes it a punishable offence.
