Sargodha cop suspected of rape suspended

SARGODHA: After the medico-legal report confirmed alleged rape of a woman in Sargodha, the assistant sub-inspector (ASI) — the prime suspect in the crime — was suspended by the police on Monday.

Departmental action has also been initiated against the arrested cop who, with support from his private guard, subject a woman to rape. The victim, who is a student, told Geo News that her father was arrested by the policeman in a drugs case.

According to the police, the district police officer (DPO) has formed a two-member investigation committee to probe into the case with orders issued to complete its report in 24 hours.

The police was earlier conducting raids to arrest the suspects.

The development comes after a case against the cop was registered at the Kotmomin police station for allegedly raping the woman, who is a student.

The ASI's private guard, the student added, had called her to acquit her father from the case, said the student.

"The ASI and his private guard took [me] to an empty house in the Muazzamabad town," she said, speaking with Geo News.

According to the victim's father, his daughter was left outside their house in a semi-conscious state in a car.

Rape and sexual assault crimes are not uncommon in Pakistan. Last month, a minor girl was allegedly raped and murdered before being thrown in a garbage dump in Karachi.

Meanwhile, police had arrested two suspects allegedly involved in subjecting a woman to gang rape in the Painsra town of Faisalabad.

The woman said a suspect, Imran alias Mani, accompanied by three to four accomplices entered the Abdul Raheem's house, thrashed Waseem and tied him in another room. Then, she alleged, Imran and his accomplices gang raped her.

In March this year, the Sustainable Social Development Organisation (SSDO) released data on violence against women in 2023.

In Punjab, a total of 6,624 cases were reported last year, which meant that approximately after every 45 minutes, a woman was raped. Faisalabad, on the other hand, emerged as a hotspot district with 728 cases, followed closely by Lahore (721) and Sargodha (398).

In Sindh, 200 cases of sexual abuse were reported in 2023.