12-year-old girl burnt to death after 'rape' in Ghotki

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GHOTKI: A 12-year-old girl was allegedly raped and burnt to death In Ghotki district's Daharki city last week. The victim's mother was also severely injured and gained consciousness on Monday.

The victim and her mother stitched and sold sheets for a living and were pursued by three men under the pretense of wanting to purchase their products. The girl was drugged after being offered tea and was allegedly set on fire by the three men after being raped, the victim's 40-year-old mother told DawnNews.

The victim's brother filed a petition at the Ghotki sessions court upon the police's refusal to register the case. The court took notice of the incident and ordered the victim's mother to record her statement on Monday.

FIR registered

The sessions court later ordered the police to lodge a first information report (FIR) of the incident.

Following the order, FIR No. 7/2015 was registered at Khenju police station against three accused persons under sections 302, 324, 376, 511 and 437 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

Earlier this month, a 10-year-old boy was allegedly raped and strangled to death in Gujranwala.

Know more: 10-year-old boy allegedly raped, strangled in Gujranwala

Rape is notoriously difficult to prosecute in Pakistan. In April 2011, the Supreme Court had upheld the acquittal of five men sentenced to death in Pakistan's most famous rape case, that of Mukhtar Mai.

Mai was gang raped in 2002 on the orders of a village council as punishment, after her brother, who was aged just 12 at the time, was accused of having illicit relations with a woman from a rival clan.

A local court had sentenced six men to death, but a higher court acquitted five of them in March 2005, and commuted the sentence for the main accused, Abdul Khaliq, to life imprisonment.

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