Sweepers arrested for raping 43-year-old teacher

By Faraz Khan

The men identified themselves as sweepers from Khanewal.

KARACHI: The Tipu Sultan police have arrested two sanitation workers on charges of raping a 43-year-old schoolteacher in her house in PECHS.

P told the police that she used to call the school’s cleaner, 25-year-old Louis, to help with the housework. But on Sunday, he came with a friend Waqas, 20. The overpowered her with the help of a kitchen knife and raped her. P is unmarried and lived alone in the house which is located in Block 6. Her neighbours said that when they heard shouting from inside the house, they grew alarmed. This was when the men were trying to flee. “First we just heard the calls for help,” said neighbour Ali (not his real name). “When we went to the house, two young men were running off with some stuff in their hands.”

People gathered at the scene and managed to catch the men. “We knew one guy as he used to come and go from the house, but we didn’t know who the other one was and we didn’t know why they were running,” said another resident, Imran. “When we discovered that they had robbed the place we tried to beat them.”

The looted valuables were handed back to the teacher and someone called the police helpline at 15. The men were taken into custody. “We didn’t know ourselves what the real story was,” said SHO Arif Afridi. “We thought they were robbers but when the lady came to register the case and we questioned her in detail, she then told us that they had raped her.”

The teacher was taken to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre where the medical examination confirmed that she had indeed been raped. The FIR, No. 87/11 under sections 376 for rape and 392 for robbery of the Pakistan Penal Code, was registered on her behalf.

The suspects said, however, that they are sweepers and hailed from Khanewal. They are relatives and lived in a part of Mehmoodabad. They were inside her house for at least two hours. “We don’t know what happened,” said Louis. “It was like the devil overcame us. I used to go to her house. But I thought one thing and something else happened.” He said that he had no intention raping her but it happened “unfortunately”. The police have acquired a five-day physical remand for the men.

Source: The Express Tribune

Date:6/28/2011

Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *