CM Shahbaz visits Muzaffargarh rape victim's family, scolds police officers
Punjab IG and other high officials accompanied the chief minister.
MUZAFFARGARH (Web Desk) - Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Saturday arrived in Muzaffagarh district and visited the family of teen-aged rape victim, Dunya News reported.
CM Shahbaz expressed his heartfelt condolence to the mother of the victim girl.
On the occasion, he told media that culprits involved in the incident will be brought to justice.
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister ordered the Inspector General of Punjab police to arrest DSP, SHO and investigation officer by the evening today.
He also suspended DPO Muzaffargarh and demoted the RPO to OSD.
It may be mentioned here that the girl died Friday after setting herself on fire after a court dropped charges against four men accused of raping her.
The incident occurred in Muzaffargarh district of Punjab province, where the horrific 2002 gang rape of Mukhtar Mai, made headlines around the world.
Amina Bibi, aged 18 according to police, doused herself with petrol and set herself alight on Thursday in front of a police station in the village of Beet Meer Hazar.
She was taken to a nearby government-run hospital where the doctors tried to save her but succumbed to her injuries early on Friday, police said.
She was allegedly assaulted by four men, including a family member, in early January and reported the incident to police.
But a local court in Muzaffargarh dropped the case on Thursday following a police report which said she had not been raped, prompting Amina to take the desperate measure.
"Nadir, the main accused in the case was a relative of the victim and they had a family dispute," senior local police official Chaudhry Asghar Ali told AFP.
"The case was investigated twice and investigators discovered that the victim had not been raped."
Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday demanded an explanation for the incident, ordering the provincial police chief and district police chief to appear in the court in person.
The court ordered police to file a written report explaining how the case was investigated and why the accused men were cleared.
The independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has also demanded the government take steps to ensure rapists are brought to justice.
