Kandhkot police trying to slur 12-year-old’s character, protect accused

The News investigation finds the 20-day delay in DNA testing may have been a
deliberate move; deceitful attempts being made to portray survivor’s ‘consent’

An investigation by The News into the recent Malir Garrison sexual assault case has found that the Kandhkot police are trying to protect the accused by trying to slur the character of the 12-year-old survivor.

Moreover, there may have been a deliberate attempt to delay the girl’s DNA test, which was conducted 15 to 20 days after the incident, so that the results could not identify the culprits responsible.

On May 7, after the domestic help was sent back to her hometown by her employer in Karachi, a medico-legal officer (MLO) in Kandhkot confirmed that the minor was “sexually active”. The report, however, did not claim that she was sexually assaulted.

The next day, the girl’s father filed a complaint against seven men at Kandhkot’s A-Section police station. The day after that, Sindh police chief AD Khowaja issued orders to arrest the culprits.

On May 11, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Mian Saqib Nisar ordered IGP Khowaja to submit a detailed report on the case in the Supreme Court within seven days.

Can CJP help?

Even though the CJP has taken suo motu notice of the case, it remains to be seen if he would be able to help, because instead of arresting the main accused, the police have been attacking the character of the survivor.

Talking to The News, Kashmore SSP Dr Samiullah Soomro claimed that the minor was “sexually active”. “An examination of the girl revealed that there were no torture marks on her body, which suggests that she may have consented to the act.”

He also claimed that according to the MLO’s report, “the girl was sexually active some 15 to 20 days before she had arrived at the hospital”.

He said the police had collected DNA samples of two suspects sent on judicial remand by the judicial magistrate in Kandhkot, adding that raids were under way for arresting Rahib Sorhiani, the main accused, and others.

“The police will hold someone responsible for the act only after the chemical examination of the DNA of all the seven men nominated in the case.”

Crucial 72 hours

Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre Executive Director Dr Seemin Jamali told The News that DNA samples should be collected within 24 hours of a sexual assault. “DNA testing can still prove fruitful if the samples are collected within 72 hours.”

She said that it was nearly impossible to identify the culprits if DNA testing was conducted 15 to 20 days after the incident, because excretion gradually destroyed all the evidence.

Agreeing with Dr Seemin, War Against Rape (WAR) Programme Officer Sheraz Ahmed cited the example of a six-year-old girl from Orangi Town who was raped and killed after she went missing from a wedding ceremony last January.

He said the police had collected DNA samples of 17 suspects after an MLO confirmed the minor’s rape, but the chemical examination could not identify the culprits due to delayed DNA testing.

It is still rape

Though the Kandhkot MLO’s report suggests that the girl had “consented” to the act, rights activists have duly pointed out that according to Pakistani law, sex with a person below the age of 16 years cannot be considered “consensual” and is regarded as “rape”.

Reacting strongly to SSP Soomro’s claim of “consensual sex”, Aurat Foundation Resident Director Mahnaz Rahman accused the police of granting safe passage to the accused. “The question of consent is irrelevant because the girl is not yet 16.”

She pointed out that Pakistan was a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. “Keeping domestic workers, which in majority of the cases are children, is against the law. There is a dire need to introduce laws to protect domestic help.”

Lack of expertise

WAR’s Ahmed – who is also project coordinator for the Gender Equity Programme of the United States Agency for International Development – criticised the Kandhkot MLO and lamented that the MLOs in the country lacked expertise.

He also lashed out at the police. “Instead of tracing the culprits, the law enforcers start slurring the character of the rape survivors. This is exactly what has been happening in the Malir Garrison case.”

He deplored the fact that cases of child sexual abuse and assault were on the rise in Karachi. “An increase of 36 per cent was reported during 2015 and 2016.”