LARKANA: The family and relatives of two girls, who claimed to have been criminally assaulted and were being blackmailed, held a demonstration outside the Rehmatpur police station on Tuesday over alleged release of the two suspects named in the FIR of the case.

The two suspects were arrested after Larkana SSP Masood Ahmed Bangash took notice of the media reports and ordered action on the complaint lodged by the girls’ father. The complainant had named the two suspects claiming that they along with another one were harassing and blackmailing his daughters and other family members.

SP Headquarters Moh­am­­med Kaleem has been assigned an investigation into the allegations. Speaking to Dawn, he confirmed arrest of the two nominated suspects.

The complainant alleged that the three suspects, one of them an ASI, had been pressing her daughters for “friendship”. On Dec 6, he claimed, they kidnapped one of the two daughters at gunpoint and took her away in a car.

Meanwhile, both the girls in their video statements accused four persons of sexually assaulting them and having filmed the episode. “They are now blackmailing us and our families,” the girls claimed.

The ASI threatened to make the video and photos viral they said. The [suspects] had also threatened to harm our family members they said.

Police in the light of the FIR had arrested three suspects. However investigation officer SP Kaleem said the case was being investigated from different angles. The statements of the complainant, the girls and the arrested suspects would be recorded on Wednesday, he said, and described the media reports of the matter as “contradictory”.

The affected family and their relatives believed that the suspects had been freed and, as such, they held a protest demonstration outside the police station.

Published in Dawn, December 9th, 2020