By: MUNAWER AZEEM
ISLAMABAD: A man allegedly raped his stepdaughter and married another one while he was still married to their mother.
This came to light when a 13-year-old girl came to the capital’s women police station and informed the police, who then arrested the man from his residence in G-11.
Station House Officer (SHO) of the women police, Sadaf Basharat, told Dawn that the family hailed from Sargodha and were professional beggars.
The man had raped his younger stepdaughter several times and had married his second stepdaughter two years ago, she said.
He had married the girls’ mother eight years ago and had four children from her.
On Sunday, the younger girl was spotted by a woman working for a non-governmental organisation (NGO) while begging.
She took the girl to a shelter house which then sent her to the police after she narrated her ordeal.
In her statement, the girl said apart from raping her, her stepfather also forced her to beg.
“I made several attempts to escape but was caught every time,” she told the police, adding that her stepfather had threatened to kill her ailing mother if she attempted to escape again.
In response, the police registered a case against the man on charges of rape and deceitfully inducing a belief of lawful marriage.
Later, a raid was conducted at the residence which led to the recovery of the girl’s elder sister and mother.
The man was also arrested and during interrogation, he confessed to his crime stating that, “I made mistakes”.
He told the police that he had married his stepdaughter through proper nikah but when the marriage certificate was demanded, he said it was burnt during a fire at his residence months ago.
However, the police have approached the union council for the said marriage certificate, the SHO said.
The girls’ mother told the police that she had married the man eight years ago after her first husband divorced her.
After the marriage, she came with her daughters to Karachi and later to Islamabad five years ago. They were professional beggars, she added.
“The woman and her two daughters are currently in safe custody and have been shifted to the shelter centre,” SHO Basharat said. She added that the police would also register a case against the man if his marriage to his stepdaughter was proved.
“Although the man confessed to his crime, the marriage certificate is necessary to apply these charges,” she said.
The police produce the man in the court of judicial magistrate and sent him to jail on judicial remand, SHO Basharat added.
