Day: December 1, 2007

KARACHI: A 36-year-old man S has been charged with using physical force and continually raping his daughter 16-year-old T for the last six years.

According to S’s statement to the police, he came home drunk one day and found his daughter, then 10 years old, alone at home. His wife B had gone to her family home along with their two sons.

In his inebriated state, S said that he could not control himself and started making sexual advancements on his daughter. She tried to resist but was overcome by her father who raped her and then beat her and then threatened to kill her and her mother if she told anyone. “The devil took over me, and I couldn’t think straight,” the police reported S as saying.

It appears that S encouraged the child to stay at home when the mother went out. B started suspecting something was wrong as there had been a noticeable change in her husband and daughter over the last couple of months. Eventually, the daughter reportedly told her mother about what had happened unleashing devastation on the family.

The next day B confided in her brother. The matter was then taken to the family home where it was decided that it was best if they let the police handle the case. The police immediately lodged an FIR under sections 376 and 506 – rape and physical threat – on behalf of the girl’s mother and took S under custody.

They also sent T for a medical examination over doubts of her potential involvement with a third person and her father’s innocence. However, Abbasi Shaheed Hospital’s WMLO Dr Yasmeen Qamar said that an ultrasound and other tests proven that T had sexual encounters with only one person and that she was not pregnant.

S has been taken to Central Karachi Jail.

Source: Daily Times

Date:12/1/2007

KARACHI: Evidence collected from the scene of the murder of a 22-year-old woman, who was married seven months ago, has left little doubt that she was murdered, according to the police who are searching for her runaway husband.

Saima, the daughter of Abdul Ghani, was found dead Thursday in her house in Baldia Town. She had married Gul Rehman, her second husband, seven months ago. She was first married to her cousin in Hyderabad and had one daughter with him. Saima hailed from Swat and Rehman hails from Dir.

Police told Daily Times that according to the landlord of Saima’s house, Ghani (her father) had asked for the house (No. 1725/1236), near Rehmania Mosque in Swat Colony, Baldia Town, telling him that his [Ghani’s] son and daughter-in-law would live there. This was in fact not true, as Ghani was renting it for his daughter. However, three days ago, Ghani dumped some household belongings and instead of his son and his daughter-in-law, Saima and Rehman, moved in just 24 hours before she was found dead.

Ghani had told the police that on the day of Saima’s death, her younger sister, five-year-old Fatima, had visited her at about 3:00 p.m. Upon her return, Fatima told her parents that Saima and Rehman were in a jovial mood and seemed quite happy. Ghani’s wife, then, went to Saima’s house at 5:00 p.m. but found the main gate locked.

Ghani, his wife and Fatima then went to Saima’s house. He helped Fatima climb over the wall to enter. Fatima came back and reported that Saima was fast asleep and blood was oozing from her head. Ghani then struggled to break the lock and upon entering the house, found Saima lying still on her bed with pieces of broken brick on the bed. He informed UC 6 councillor Sharif Ahmed who then informed the police.

SHO Baldia Town Police Station Malick Ishaque, along with SIO Aziz-ur-Rehman and ASI Muhammad Feroze Khan, rushed to the crime scene and dispatched Saima’s body to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital in an Edhi ambulance.

Initially, Saima’s relatives created hindrances in the legal procedure and the FIR was registered late under Section 154 of the CrPC on behalf of Abdul Ghani. Although the family did not allow a post-mortem, the police managed to have their way and ASI Muhammad Feroze Khan completed the initial legal procedure, police said.

Baldia Town Police Station Investigation Officer Ghulam Ali conducted unsuccessful raids on the addresses of Rehman’s relatives in an attempt to arrest him. Rehman’s brother was also interrogated but he refused to provide any information.

The police added that there were rumors that Rehman had some psychiatric problems but said it would be premature to assert anything until he was arrested.

Source: Daily Times

Date:12/1/2007

KARACHI: Nearly one-third of women have been sexually abused in some form or degree of incest including fondling, touching, exposure and in extreme cases rape, said psychiatrist Dr Uzma Ambareen of the Pakistan Association of Mental Health while talking to Daily Times about S’s case.

Girls are targeted more than boys and it happens more in lower-income social groups. “Sexual perversion is a form of mental illness,” she said when asked if S could have ‘helped’ himself. “But the person is aware of what they are doing and the consequences. He should be held accountable.”

His pedophilic leaning could be traced to his own childhood or upbringing as Dr Ambareen believes that generally people with a ‘normal’ childhood are extremely unlikely to engage in this behaviour. S has said his daughter was involved with him after a stage but Dr Ambareen cautioned that this was his way of rationalizing his actions. “The problem is that in these cases the victim is accused,” she said.

The entire family unit needs to see a doctor and B’s feelings towards her daughter must be examined. The daughter must be psychiatrically evaluated as the publicity into the case could make her suicidal.

Dr Ambareen advised that if anyone suspects incest they should approach a doctor. Some of the clues are a change in behaviour in the child (depression, overt and inappropriate sexual behaviour, anxiety) and the parent’s eagerness to be alone with the child. If this is so the child should be asked in a non-threatening manner if anyone has harmed them. “Sometimes children don’t open up to a parent but will to a doctor,” she said. They should be assessed.

Source: Daily Times

Date:12/1/2007

KARACHI – A teenager girl was burnt to death in her house when she was cooking food in the kitchen and her dressed caught fire on Friday, in the jurisdiction of Saeedabad police station.

Police said that Saima aged 16, was a residence of house No.1056, Sector 14/A Saeedabad, was busy in cooking in the kitchen her dress caught fire incidentally and she critically burnt.

She was rushed to the Civil Hospital Karachi in critical condition, where she died during the treatment, police said.

Police further said that Saima’s mother has given her statement to the police according to which her daughter was mentally sick at least five to six years back. Saima’s mother further told that deceased was cooking food in the kitchen and suddenly she caught fire burnt.

Police said that at present it is very difficult to identify that Saima incidentally burnt or deliberately, but police is investigating, duty officer confirmed.
Source: The Nation
Date:12/1/2007

KARACHI: A married woman on Friday burnt herself to death by spraying kerosene oil on her body and the death toll of married women reached to four in two days.

According to the police, a mother of one-year-son Salama, 23, wife of Abdul Hassan committed suicide in her residence located at Taiser town Lyari Express Way in jurisdiction of Surjani Town. She was taken to Abbasi Shaheed hospital but she succumbed to dead on the spot.

After the medical formalities the relatives of deceased took the body from hospital, said police.

While mentioning the statement of Salma’s family members’ police said that Salma was alone in her house with her mother-in-law Ruqaya, just before the incident Salma asked Ruqaya that she was going to her room and for taking bath. Her mother-in-law was busy with some house works, for a while she (Ruqaya) heard shout of Salma from inside the room. She immediately reached Salma’s room but the room was locked from inside then Ruqaya saw form the window that Salma was burning. She asked for help from her neighbourhood without any delay.

Some of their neighbours reached on the spot and broken into the room to try to save her, but she died on the spot.

Police, said that the family of deceased including her father Abdul Rasheed does not want to lodge an FIR of the incident. While police learnt in their initial investigation that it was a suicide case.

Meanwhile police said that she burnt herself because of some domestically disputes there was no anybody was presented at the house where and when the incident took place. The further investigation is in progress and after that if any clue, police got, and thus the FIR will be lodged. Deceased was a Bengali woman and her husband is labourer by profession.
Source: The NAtion
Date:12/1/2007