Teen held for raping 6-yr-old at KU

KARACHI: The police arrested a sixteen-year-old medical storekeeper in connection with the rape of six-year-old girl S on Friday.

S, a madrassa student and resident of Squad Colony, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, went missing after Friday players. She was found naked and unconscious in the bushes near Gate No. 3 of the University of Karachi. An Edhi ambulance took her to Civil Hospital Karachi after a tip-off from a taxi driver.

S went missing while she was playing in a ground near her house. According to the police, her neighbour, Rashid, came there and lured her to the premises of the university by offering her sweets, where he raped her. According to the people of the area, Rashid is known to have had previous “unlawful” relations. “I do not know how I did it. Some type of evil overtook me and it was just a mistake,” he is reported to have told the police. He also reportedly said that he planned to take her back to her house but she was unconscious and her condition was extremely bad, so he left her in the bushes.

“Initially, S’s family was not cooperating with us, so we had to carry out background checks on people who regularly visit their house,” said Gulshan Town SP Sohail Zafar Chattha. Residents were also quizzed, which was how the police came to know of Rashid, whose younger sister is a friend of S and, hence, he often visited their house. Witnesses informed the police that Rashid was allegedly the last person seen with S. “Upon receiving this information, we raided the accused’s house and arrested him. Initially, he denied the allegations but confessed when he was identified by the victim,” said Chattha.

S was taken to an Edhi Home but was returned to her family on Saturday. Her father works in Saudi Arabia, and she lives in Karachi with her mother and two siblings.

“Basically, it was the negligence of the security people deputed at the university. They have to keep a stricter watch on visitors,” said Station Investigation Officer (SIO) Iqbal.

S’s uncle, Abdul Ghaffoor, said that while S had suffered, the media attention and police action meant that no one from the area would have the courage to do something like this again. “This man should be punished severely and made an example of,” said Ghaffoor.

According to other press reports, the hospital staff was negligent towards S and delayed her admission, an act that the Sindh Health Minister Dr Sagheer Ahmed has taken serious note of.
Source: Daily Times
Date:8/17/2008