MUZAFFARGARH: Two nine-year-old girls were raped in separate incidents at the District Headquarters Hospital Layyah and Kot Addu.

A mentally challenged minor girl was raped at the DHQ Hospital, Layyah, on Thursday evening.

The nine-year-old girl belonged to Chak 515-TDA of Kot Addu who was visiting the hospital with her family.

A CCTV footage showed the victim child being taken away by the suspect, identified as a 15-year-old resident of the General Bus Stand.

According to a police spokesperson, the suspect was a sweets vendor and he lured the girl by giving her toffees. He raped the victim within the boundary wall of the hospital.

After the incident, City police arrested the suspect with the help of modern technology and CCTV footage.

Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz had taken notice of the incident and ordered the inspector general of police (IGP) and the South Punjab additional IG to take immediate action and submit a report to her.

On her instructions, Layyah District Police Officer Asadul Rehman formed a special team to trace the suspect and arrest him. The suspect was arrested within hours of the incident.

The Layyah City Police Station registered a case.

In the other incident, another nine-year-old girl was raped in the limits of the Kot Addu Police Station.

The girl child was going to a shop to buy food items where the suspect raped her.

The City SHO registered a case and ordered the Gender Crime in-charge Saeeda Khaliq to arrest the suspect.

A team, led by Ms Khaliq, arrested the facilitator of the suspect who revealed the identity of the main suspect.

The police are conducting raids to arrest the main suspect.

Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2024