April 6th, 2021
By Zeenat Shehzadi
FAISALABAD
A woman with speech and hearing disability has been allegedly gang-raped in Bhowana tehsil while her family has accused the police of partiality in the case.
According to family members, the three suspects are influential and have also gotten pre-arrest bail in the case.
Speaking to Voicepk.net, Biquis Begum, mother-in-law of the rape survivor, said that her daughter-in-law was going to a nearby shop in the morning when the three accused Mustafa, Anis and Saleem allegedly forced her inside a house on a deserted street.
“My daughter-in-law, who is unable to hear and speak, was gangraped in the house and tortured,” she said.
The three suspects also tore her clothes while the wounds on her face were bleeding, Bilquis added. She said they were poor and nobody was trying to help them get justice in the case.
A local resident told Voicepk.net that the suspects had raped the woman inside the house, adding that the rape survivor looked distraught and disheveled when she approached passersby for help after coming out of the house.
In a video, the rape survivor is seen when she points out the house and the room where she was gang-raped.
Nadia, a cousin of the rape survivor, said the family is feeling very insecure. “The suspects have threatened that other women of the family will also meet the same fate if we don’t stop pursuing the case,” she said.
The rape survivor’s husband, named Saleem, said that the accused had recieved bail and were continously threatening them of dire consequences.
“I am a poor man and they are very influential. They threatened me that if I go to the police station they will shoot me. I want justice for my family,” he said.
Bhowana Police Station SHO Muhammad Ijaz refused to talk to Voicepk.net on camera but said that investigation in the case was still ongoing.
According to the police, the case is of rape and not gang-rape as alleged by the family. The FIR says that two of the accused stood and watched as the main suspect raped the victim.
The family members and local residents have protested against the police partiality, appealing to the government to take note of the delay in arresting the suspects.
