A 19-year-old newlywed was admitted to Civil Hospital Karachi in critical condition after allegedly enduring “brutal sexual violence” at the hands of her husband, who has since been arrested, officials said on Monday.

Police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed told Dawn.com, “As per the family and the police record, the 19-year-old girl married in Lyari on June 15. She is now in a coma. Her physical examination findings are consistent with sexual violence.”

According to the contents of the first information report (FIR) registered at the Baghdadi Police Station on July 5 under Sections 324 (attempt to commit qatl-i-amd) and 376-B (punishment for rape) of the Pakistan Penal Code, the complainant, the brother of the victim, said that he was a resident of Shah Beg Lane in Baghdadi, Lyari.

“On the third day of her marriage, my sister was subjected to brutal sexual violence allegedly by her husband. She remained admitted at a private hospital in the city and was later taken to Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Trauma Centre of Civil Hospital Karachi in a critical condition the other day,” the FIR read.

The complainant said his 19-year-old sister married the suspect on June 15. Her health condition deteriorated on June 30, compelling the family to bring her back home. She informed the parents that on July 17, her husband subjected her to an “unnatural sexual act”, per the FIR.

It added that the husband also sexually assaulted her with a foreign object. Subsequently, the husband subjected her to sexual violence, leading to bleeding. As per the FIR, the suspect threatened his wife with “dire consequences” if she disclosed anything to anyone.

The complainant said the family took his sister to a private hospital on Garden Road when her condition deteriorated, but no improvement was seen. The in-laws again took the victim to their home. Later on, she was brought to the trauma centre on July 4, where she was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), the FIR said, adding that the complainant was seeking legal proceedings against the suspect.

South Deputy Inspector General of Police Syed Asad Raza told Dawn.com that the suspect had been arrested and an investigation has been launched.

Despite the presence of anti-rape laws — with punishment for rape either resulting in the death penalty or imprisonment of between 10 and 25 years — cases continue to prevail in the country.

Last week, police had said that they had arrested the primary suspect allegedly involved in the gang-rape of a girl in Ittehad Town.

In May, two sisters were subjected to a sexual assault in their home in North Karachi, police and doctors had said.

In April, in a rare verdict, an additional district and sessions judge in Gujranwala handed down 10-year rigorous imprisonment to a man for subjecting his wife to an unnatural sexual offence.