Biradari Panchayat ‘behind Multan revenge rape’

ISLAMABAD: The Punjab police have informed the Supreme Court that the rape of a teenage girl last month was committed through an illegal Biradari Panchayat in Muzaffarabad district of Multan.

“During the course of investigation, it transpired that the rape has been committed through illegal Biradari Panchayat,” said the report prepared by the City Police Officer of Multan.

The police told the SC that the rape was in revenge of another rape committed earlier by the brother of the victim ‘X’ with the sister of the accused ‘Y’.

On July 20, the mother of X submitted an application at the Woman Police Station wherein she alleged that on July 18 at 2am Y, along with two of his accomplices, abducted her daughter X, 16, and raped her.

The medical of X was conducted by medical officer of Violence Against Women Centre. The Crime Scene Investigation Unit of Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA) had taken swabs of the victim X and the accused Y, which had been submitted to PFSA, Lahore.

Giving facts about the case, the report says that on July 16, X’s brother raped 12-year-old Y’s sister. Four people went to the house of X and demanded revenge of rape committed by her brother. They reached a compromise wherein it was decided that X might be handed over to Y for revenge rape.

It was also told that a meeting of “Bhullar Biradari” was held in which more than 20 persons participated. Y’s sister and his mother came and told the participants of the meeting to take the hand of her daughter, but Y’s father refused, saying that he would get revenge for the rape committed by X’s brother. Thereafter, Y’s father directed his son to take X into a room and rape her. Y’s mother opened the door of the room and dragged X into the room where Y was already present and locked the door. The four accused remained present outside the door.

The report further revealed that all 29 nominated accused had been arrested in three cases and investigation of all the three cases would be completed and challans submitted in court of law within seven days. (Names have been withheld for privacy)

Source: The Express Tribune