Shocking incident: Two women kidnapped, gang-raped in Sindh town

KARACHI: In a shocking incident, two women were kidnapped, paraded naked and then gang-raped in a village near Naukot town of district Mirpurkhas, Sindh, local sources said.

The sources told The News that the two victims were abducted by more than 20 people belonging to the Tangri community from 16-Mile at Nafees Nagar from the house of Mohammad Hanif Rajput within the jurisdiction of Naukot police station late Saturday night. Local sources informed The News that the incident took place after a girl of the Tangri community left her home and married a boy of the Rajput community. After the incident, the people of the Tangri exacted their revenge.

The women were later rescued after some 20 hours when Pakistan People's Party Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) Mir Tariq Talpur reached the area and, with the help of contingents of police, got both abducted women rescued.

The rescued women were brought to the Rural Health Center in Naukot for a medical check-up where initial check-up conducted by Dr Zebnissa Kolachi confirmed the assault on both victims.

The victims, talking to the media persons, lamented that the people from the Tangari community after abducting them took them to their area and subjected them to gang-rape for several hours. "We both were stripped naked, forced to parade naked and then were raped by many tormentors for many hours during detention at an undisclosed location," they added.

The relatives of the victims, who staged demonstrations in the town, alleged that the house of Mohammad Hanif Rajput was attacked, ransacked and then notorious outlaws from the Tangri community took away their two women at gunpoint. They alleged that Naukot police were reluctant to chase and arrest the armed men, who were already involved in criminal activities in the area.

The First Information Report (FIR), under relevant sections of the Pakistan Penal Code against the accused, has been registered on the complaint of one Ali Raza Rajput, the husband of the abducted woman, after PPP MPA exerted pressure on DSP, SHO and other police officials.

Parents of the victim women alleged had police officials acted on time, the women would have been saved. They alleged that the criminals on gunpoint also took away gold, cash and other valuables from the house of Rajput.

"Nobody feels safe from people of these gangs of Tangri people but police of Naukot town have never bothered to take any action against them," they added. The Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Mirpurkhas, Captain (retd) Asad Ali Chudhary, on the directions of high-ups of Sindh government, reached Naukot town and sought information from villagers and victim women on Tuesday.

The SSP said that the police team, during the raids, had so far arrested 12 accused nominated in the FIR and the remaining would soon be arrested, adding that justice would be done with the aggrieved people. The SSP said that while the criminal assault on the women had been initially confirmed yet they had sent the samples for DNA test.