Three new sections of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) relating to abduction and rape of a child, and disappearance of evidence were included by the investigation officer (IO) of the minor girl’s gang rape and murder case.
IO Shama brought two suspects before Judicial Magistrate (South) Zahid Ali, seeking their 13-day physical custody for further interrogation and to conduct their medical examination.
During the hearing, the IO informed the court that on the instruction of state prosecutor, she had included three new sections: 364 A (kidnapping or abducting a person under 14 years), 375-A (punishment for child rape) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender) of the PPC in this case.
She further mentioned that she needed their physical custody to arrest the remaining suspect and to recover the piece of cloth used to strangle the 12-year-old girl to death.
After hearing the IO, the court extended the suspect’s police custody for five days and directed the IO to produce them at the next hearing.
According to the FIR, the complainant, the victim’s mother, informed the police that she lived near the railway station in the Cantt area. On August 24, she said, she had gone to a clinic with her two daughters, while her 12-year-old daughter remained at home. However, when the complainant returned, her daughter was missing. Later, her body was found at a garbage dump near Lucky Star.
Published in Dawn, September 4th, 2024