Muzaffargarh police arrested three men and charged four individuals with the alleged rape, blackmail, and coercion leading to an abortion of a minor. The incident was revealed on Friday.
The girl’s mother filed a First Information Report (FIR) at Rangpur police station late Wednesday night, invoking sections 376 (punishment for rape) and 292 (sale, etc., of obscene materials) of the Pakistan Penal Code. The FIR implicated three men and one woman in connection with the case.
According to the complainant, on March 10 of this year, around 5 pm, her 14-15-year-old daughter was home alone while the family attended a local event. During this time, the suspects forcibly entered their home, taking the girl into a room at gunpoint.
Reportedly, one suspect sexually assaulted the daughter at gunpoint while another recorded explicit videos and captured photos of the minor on his mobile phone. They threatened to disseminate this explicit content on social media and harm her if she disclosed the incident.
The FIR documented multiple instances of the men repeatedly sexually assaulting the minor, including an incident on September 3 when they found her home alone. One of the suspects forced her into a room at gunpoint and sexually assaulted her, while the other recorded the assault. During this attack, the girl experienced severe back pain and was promptly taken to the hospital, where one of the suspects, who is also a quack, conducted an abortion on her four-month pregnancy.
Upon returning home, the family realized the victim was missing and later located her at the quack’s hospital, as detailed in the FIR. Three out of the four suspects have been apprehended.
Disturbingly, data from the rights group Sahil, published last month, revealed that during the first six months of this year, an average of 12 children suffered sexual abuse daily. Of the 2,227 reported cases, three-quarters originated from Punjab.
Reports indicate that Punjab has encountered significant challenges due to a high prevalence of sexual violence. Approximately a year ago, the former Punjab home minister, Attaullah Tarar, declared an “emergency” in response to the escalating incidents of sexual abuse against women and children, citing daily cases of rape in the province.
