By: Hasnain Qaisrani
DERA GHAZI KHAN: Three officials and two accomplices of the Dera border military police reportedly gang-raped five women tourists from Lahore and Bahawalpur at the hilly Fort Munro resort on Saturday.
According to police, three officials of the Fort Munro border military police — responsible for the maintenance of the law and order situation in the tribal belt — stopped a vehicle that was carrying five women and a man late on Thursday night on the pretext of checking. The five victims were Shama, Aalia and Guria from Data Darbar in Lahore and Saima and Sanam from Bahawalpur. According to the girls’ statements, they were kidnapped by the border officials and taken to a private house where they were gang- raped by three BMP officials by the names of Amjad Ali, Muhammad Zafar, Naveed Iqbal, one civilian Majeed Leghari as well as an unidentified fifth man.
The victims told the media that after they were freed on Friday morning, they reached Dera Ghazi Khan and submitted an application to the political assistant for registration of a case against the accused.
A senior BMP official told the media that following a medical examination performed by medical officer Azra Saeed at the maternity ward of the district headquarter hospital on Saturday, a case was registered against the five accused. The case was lodged on the report of Asif Imran, the fiance of one of the victims. The five girls are due to be presented before a judicial magistrate on Monday to record their statement.
Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif Saturday took notice of the matter and ordered the Dera Ghazi Khan commissioner to submit a detailed report in this regard within 24 hours.
