KARACHI: Two suspects, who had allegedly gang-raped a 10-year-old homeless girl, were taken into custody from the Defence area on Tuesday evening.

Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon tweeted that the breakthrough was made with the help of CCTV footage.

The minor girl, whose family came to the metropolis from their hometown in Shikarpur in the aftermath of the floods, was kidnapped and gang-raped by two unknown persons who later abandoned her outside a Clifton shopping mall on Sunday. The Boat Basin police registered a case on the complaint of the victim’s mother. Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah had also took notice of the incident and directed police to bring the culprits to justice at the earliest.

Earlier, a senior police officer claimed that the investigation was under way and statements of all relevant people including witnesses were being recorded. An exercise to collect CCTV footage was also carried out, he said.

Meanwhile, Sindh Women Development Minister Syeda Shehla Raza and Sindh Commission on the Status of Women (SCSW) chairperson Nuzhat Shireen visited the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre to inquire after the health of the victim.

She directed doctors to provide her all medical facilities. Ms Raza vowed to provide all possible legal assistance to the mother of the victim to bring the criminals to justice.

She said the victim girl’s father had already passed away and her mother moved to Karachi with her children after the floods.

She said that the police should introduce strict legal provisions in registering cases of incidents of abuse, and added that the courts should also give severe punishments to such criminals.

She said the whole society is paralysed due to such ‘savage beasts’ and parents should also not leave their children at the mercy of such people and take care of them.

Published in Dawn, October 26th, 2022